The Taste of Sin
by ericastwilight
Summary: After living on the blood of humans for decades Edward returns home. He finds things are very different from when he left. Can a brown eyed orphan help him cure his thirst once and for all? Or make him hunger for more than blood? In Hiatus
1. Blood On Her Hands

**AN: Beta'd by lisa89. Carlisle and Edward's POV's written by me, and Bella's written by the talented Emerald_Rosalie. Enjoy.**

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The Taste of Sin

**Chapter One – Blood on Her Hands**

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Carlisle- Chicago 1997

It was a balmy day in Chicago, which was _highly_ unusual this time of year. Esme was outside on the balcony, talking to our daughter Alice. Her mate and husband Jasper had just left to hunt with our other son Emmett.

Emmett was growing increasingly irritable; it had been a while since we had gone hunting in the dense forests of Canada. As much as I wanted to join my sons today, I had a prior obligation.

I was waiting for a phone call from my close friend Charles Swan, who had been a companion of mine in the last century and a half.

I had wandered this world alone for quite some time before I had found companionship with Charles. We had met in the forests that surrounded the Olympic Peninsula over one hundred and fifty years ago.

We had both been hunting for animals in the same area. I had never met anyone before him who shared my preference in blood. So, it had been quite a shock to find him on the forest floor, hovering over the dead corpse of a mountain lion.

Unfortunately, at the time, he had found me a threat and tried to defend his meal. Luckily, I had been able to convince him that I was no more a threat to him than I was to a human.

He'd laughed at that, and we'd been friends ever since. He dropped by from time to time, never longer than a few months. He was never one to show emotions, and his gift had always made him wary. He feared if another found out about his talent, he would be sought out by the Volturi.

I, of course, had been able to figure out his gift the very first time I'd met him. He could mask his _scent_. He could shield his scent from anyone and use that shield to protect others. He was untraceable. To someone like Aro, he would be more than worthy to add to his collection of talented guards. With Charles, he would be able to send anyone against his enemies completely undetected. This was why Charles remained a nomad, despite my asking him to remain with me.

Over the years, I had sought out others for companionship, but my lack of appetite for human blood always made others of our kind give a wide berth around me.

After nearly two centuries, I had come upon a dying human boy in 1918 and changed him after his mother had begged me to save his life. I'd never forgotten Elizabeth Masen's dying wish, and I tried to protect him as much as I possibly could.

It had been a terrible ordeal to watch another suffer through the pain caused by the change. Edward had been gifted from the moment he'd awoken after his heart had drummed its last beat. He'd answered a question in my thoughts before I'd been able to utter the words from my lips.

Edward had remained with me for ten years, seemingly happy with our bond as father and son. But after I'd found the love of my existence, Esme, his distance had become more pronounced. At the time, I'd felt he'd seemed me to be uncomfortable with the level of intimacy that Esme and I had shared.

I had done what I'd thought was best.

I'd wanted to find him someone that could mean to him what Esme meant to me. That was then I discovered the broken body of a young socialite, Rosalie Hale. Edward had been instantly disinterested in her.

In fact, he had been more than angry that I'd chosen to make her one of us, for not comprehending the enormity of the mistake I had made. Her death and her last human memories would be the horrendous things that had been done to her – memories that would remain with her for eternity.

Fortunately for Rosalie, she'd found her mate less than two years later – Emmett. She had been hunting and managed to kill the bear that had mauled him, and she'd brought him straight to me.

She had never strayed from our diet, but was unsure if she'd be able to handle changing Emmett on her own.

Edward had tried to stay with us, but with two couples in our shared home, he had become more adamant on leaving the house for days at a time.

One day, after going out to hunt, he had come through the door with shocking crimson eyes. He claimed that a vile human had been attempting to rape a young woman in an alley. After seeing firsthand through Rosalie's memories the horror of what a woman felt like in that situation, he had made quick haste and drained him before his body hit the ground.

He had killed three humans that day. He'd left, claiming that with his ability, he would pass over the innocent and kill those humans that were just as monstrous as he was.

He had yet to come home.

He called, wrote from time to time and occasionally dropped by. It was never more than a day. He'd met the newest members of our family Alice and Jasper, and he'd instantly bonded with Jasper after he'd told him of his experiences with the thirst for human blood. He'd even managed to meet Charles a few times.

Edward seemed frightened of Charles, because his ability didn't seem to work on him. There were times where he'd catch particularly powerful thoughts, but even then they were always garbled or muted.

So, with a heavy heart, I knew that Charles would call today. He knew how much Edward meant to our family, because today was his ninetieth birthday.

I was waiting in my study, reading over a new article on the advancement of laser eye surgery, when my telephone rang.

"Hello, old friend," I said, amused for a moment, until I heard the heavy breathing on the other end. "Charles?" I asked curiously.

"Carlisle! Oh, I got through. My friend," Charles said his voice barely audible, "I need your help."

To say that I was shocked at this declaration would be an understatement. In our entire friendship, he had never asked anything of me.

"Anything," I said, curiosity getting the best of me.

"I met someone," he said quietly.

"That's wonderful, Charles."

"She's human."

_Oh._

"What do you need from me, Charles?"

I heard a heavy sigh before he uttered his next statement. "She wants me to change her."

"I take it that this is something you do not wish to do?"

"No, I want to be with her forever. That is not an issue. The issue is that I don't know if I can change her myself."

_Ah._

I knew for a fact that Charles himself had never witnessed another through their change.

"You wish to bring her to me so that I may offer assistance, seeing as you've chosen not to live without her?"

"In a way, yes. I would like to try, but I want to be watched and stopped if the need should arise. With your sons, I'm sure if the worst came to pass, they would be able to stop me before I killed her."

I understood his reluctance. From what Charles had confessed, he had only taken very few lives since his change. He hadn't tasted human blood in centuries.

"That can be arranged, Charles. Just give me time to set up a place deep in the wilderness of Alaska, and we will meet you there."

Charles let out breath of relief. "Thank you, Carlisle."

"Now tell me, old friend. How did you fall in love with a human?"

Charles's laughter followed, a sound I hadn't heard tumble from his lips in decades.

***

My family and I were saying our goodbyes to the Denali Clan; my sons had just finished arrangements for cabins deep in the wilderness of the Alaskan landscape.

Charles was meeting us with his new wife Renee shortly. There was a weather front closing in on our positions, and I knew the trek would be hard for a human. Charles had failed to make the initial phone call last week, but I was hoping that everything was fine. If he was detained with his wife, then surely I understood.

I wanted to ask a few questions on the dynamic of his relations with the human. Never had I ever heard of such a thing occurring.

A vampire and a _human_ being intimate. The idea was simply illogical. With a simple twist of his finger, he could kill her.

I worried for my friend. His lack of communication since his call in June left me wary. Jasper was the first to arrive at the cabin and leapt over the small cabin in amusement.

"Carlisle, I would never picture you, a man of your tastes, to live in such a small home," he teased, performing a flip before landing on the other side.

"Well, considering that we used this place to harbor newborns, I always found building a large home useless." This was not my first time here. I had brought Edward, Esme, Rosalie and Emmett all here before.

Jasper cocked his eyebrow in question, looking at Emmett and then laughing. "Let me guess, the house never manages to stay standing."

I laughed, shaking my head. "Edward demolished a small cabin I built in less than twelve hours."

"I did it in three!" Emmett sang as he sailed over the cabin.

The rest of my family arrived shortly afterward. There were a total of four cabins, all within a few thousand feet of one another. We all chose our lodgings and settled in for the evening.

***

The storm continued to blow and howl all around us; Emmett was currently standing outside, yelling at the night sky, "Is that all you've got?" His fist was high in the air as he roared at the darkened clouds.

He was an immobile pillar in a blizzard, a _naked_ pillar. Rosalie had kicked him out again.

We had been here for three days, and Charles had not arrived. Our family was growing steadily worried. It was not like him to be late for anything, much less something as important as this.

Another day had passed, and I knew something must be terribly wrong. The sky was dark and threatening overhead. We all separated for the remainder of the evening after our last hunt. Well into the night, Alice and Jasper appeared suddenly.

"He's coming," Alice said, her face etched with sadness.

I looked upon my son Jasper, who just shrugged his shoulders and shook his head, wrapping his arms around his wife.

Emmett and Rosalie appeared within seconds, both in states of disheveled undress. I shook my head at them, and we just waited.

An hour passed when suddenly Jasper was on his feet, his nose flaring. "I'm leaving." He turned to Alice and kissed her lightly before leaving out the back door.

"What is wrong with Jasper?" I asked, looking at my daughter.

"There is blood," Alice whispered. I looked at her for confirmation, and she nodded. I went to the door and sniffed the air around me. Human blood, and lots of it. I ran in the direction that the scent carried me.

Alice, Rosalie, Esme and Emmett followed behind me. There was a small clearing, where I could clearly hear the cries of a dying man.

Charles was there, covered in blood, carrying a pale human body in his arms as he sobbed. The crimson of the blood looked almost black against the purity of the Alaskan snow. I took a tentative step toward him, and he looked up at me.

His entire essence was gone. Before me was a broken vampire, no longer capable of reason. Then I heard it.

A cry. A cry from a small child.

"Take her," he said in a strangled sob, still clutching the body to his chest.

I motioned for Esme, but when she stepped closer, Charles growled deeply. "She's covered in her mother's blood."

I didn't allow myself time to process his words. I looked at my family as they gazed upon the scene before them; none of them were breathing.

I sighed and knelt before Charles, taking the small, warm bundle wrapped in a bloodied sweater.

"Her mother, her wonderful, beautiful mother, wanted her name to be Isabella Marie," Charles said, rocking back and forth with the corpse of his bride in his arms.

I took in her appearance and realized upon looking at the child in my arms that she had torn her way through her mother's womb. No human could have survived such an ordeal.

"I tried to change her, but there was too much blood loss. I couldn't get to you in time."

"I'm sorry, Charles," I whispered, clasping a hand on his shoulder.

A small sigh interrupted my thoughts and the questions that I wanted to ask him. I looked down at the little girl in my arms. Her eyes were wide open and alert and surprisingly warm for brown. Her small head was covered in brown curls. Her cheeks were flushed, no doubt due to the frigid temperature.

I needed to get her out of the cold.

"Come, Charles, I must take her to the warmth of the cabin."

Charles nodded and then lifted his wife's dead body from the glittering red and white snow. My family turned to return the way we had come. From what I could see, they needed to leave the temptation of the blood we were leaving behind.

I constantly checked to make sure of Charles's path. We were just a few minutes from the cabin when Alice suddenly gasped, "NO!" and turned toward Charles, screaming.

I turned back to look back at him. He looked at me sadly with a small smile.

"Take care of her. No doubt she will be extraordinary."

With a flick of his fingers, he punctured his chest, swiping it across, venom spewing out of the jagged incision. I shook my head, screaming for him to stop. In just moments, he lit a match to his body and Renee's, and he burst into a plume of purple flames.

"No!" I screamed, falling to my knees, clutching his daughter to my chest.

"Take…care…of…her," he gasped before his body fell to the ground, turning to putrid ashes.

Another cry filled the night. The child in my arms looked upon the flames, her eyes wide and glistening.

She gazed up at me and then back at the fire, reaching out for the parents that would never again hold her.

****

_**September 1**__**st**__** 2007**_

_**~Isabella Swan Cullen**_

I turned over, trying to push the image of the flames from my mind. They'd been coming a lot lately, ever since I'd reached maturity. I had yet to tell Mom or Dad, but still, they were troubling me. No doubt Alice would "see" them soon enough.

Although, something else was worrying me. I remembered my Momma's face, but my father's, Charles, or Charlie, as I'd heard Momma call him... I was scared that I was starting to forget him. This man had given me life, after falling in love with my Momma. His voice I could remember after having heard it so many times while I'd been in my Momma's belly.

I choked back tears as I remembered my mother Renee. She had given her life to have me, to bring me into this world. I was the product of their doomed love.

Wiping my eyes, I tried my hardest to haul my ass out of bed – not that the thick, warm quilt wanted to me to go.

Today…gah. Today, I was starting high school.

My siblings Rosalie, Alice, Jasper and Emmett were joining me to enroll. I was a little mad at Dad for sending me, after he'd spent all those years educating me. I knew everything there was to know; he'd made sure of it.

Rosalie and Emmett were looking forward to me starting school, and it always spelled trouble when both Emmett _and _Rosalie were happy about something.

I loved my sister a lot, but Rosalie was as devious as Alice was sneaky. I knew as soon as I'd stepped into the bathroom that the outfit I'd picked last night would be discarded. I loved Alice, but God, no one could be that into fashion.

I showered and sure enough, a whole new outfit was laid out on my bed. Damn, it was a nice outfit. I smiled to myself as I slipped on the pink converse Alice had left me and shook my hair out in the mirror. I decided to just leave the unruly curls to themselves; they were my best feature, and Dad had told me I had my father's hair, curly and wild.

I walked into the kitchen, feeling all four sets of vampiric eyes on me. Emmett was the first to break.

"What's for breakfast, Bells? Mountain lion or Cheerios?"

"Very funny, _asshat_. How long did it take you to think of that?" I replied teasingly as I poured my cereal – Wheaties, to be exact.

"About six minutes and seventeen seconds," he replied with a proud grin.

"Wow! You're getting quicker. Anyone would think you actually had a brain in there now!" I said, sticking my tongue out.

"It's a damn good thing you're my sister, or I'd tell you exactly where to shove that tongue," he said and winked.

"Hey! We don't want the whole of Forks high school gossiping that we think incest is best!" Alice chipped in, chuckling.

"Alice!" Esme admonished as she came in and kissed my cheek. "Good morning, sweetheart. Sleep well?"

I nodded with a mouthful of cereal.

Alice just grinned, patting Esme on the back.

"Who are you riding with, Bells?" Emmett asked as he looked at my cereal with disgust.

"Definitely not you and your boom boom room of a Jeep. Don't think I don't know what you and Rose do in there," I said, hiding my grin.

"I always make him steam clean the seats after, so it's alright," Rosalie said. "Venom free."

"Ugh, still. I'll ride with Alice, thanks," I replied, taking a bite of my cereal. "No bodily fluids in the Porsche."

"That you know of," Emmett muttered.

"EWW!" Alice shrieked. "You better not have, Rose!"

Rosalie smacked Emmett full force across the head. "Apologize."

"Rosie," Emmett whined.

"Now," she warned him, "or I'm taking your jeep apart piece by piece, starting with the new iPod dock I just installed."

"Sorry, Alice, I swear I've never spurted the good stuff over your dash," he said evilly.

I flicked one of my Wheaties at him, and he jumped up in revulsion.

"You'll pay for that, Swan," he vowed.

"Okay, if you remember it in your goldfish brain," I snickered.

"Keep it comin', I'll remember," he said, glaring at me.

"I'll remember to leave you some post it notes around, Emmy." I grinned, clearing my bowl. "You know, to add to your collection?"

"I resent that remark, Isabella."

Jasper smiled amusedly at our banter. "I got your back, B."

I bumped fists with Jasper and flipped Emmett off as Esme turned her back.

"Isabella Swan Cullen, I saw that," called Carlisle as he walked into the kitchen.

"Shit," I muttered, and he raised his eyebrow. "Sorry, Dad."

He grinned, the smile reaching his golden eyes. "Your first day of school, are you nervous?"

Jasper snickered, "She's not, but evidently you are, Pops."

"She's our baby, of course I'm worried," he said softly.

"I'll be fine, and anyone that pisses me off, well…I'll set Emmett on them."

"Rose is scarier," Alice quipped while I nodded in agreement.

***

I felt the nervousness fly over me as Alice pulled into the parking lot of Forks High School. I saw people turn to stare at us as she backed in her Porsche to park next to Emmett.

So much for blending in; we'd never been able to.

Who chose a bright yellow Porsche to blend in? I wished my truck was ready. I'd have to remember to ask Rosalie to work on it tonight.

Jasper hit me with enthusiasm, and I growled as he winked at me over his shoulder. "Give me that million dollar smile, B." He laughed as I struggled to get out of the car.

"Shit!" I shrieked as I nearly fell out of the car, catching myself on the door.

"You're the only clumsy vampire I've ever met," Rosalie said as she came around and straightened my hair.

"Half vampire, actually," Alice corrected her. "One-of-a-kind."

"Stop with the one-of-a-kind stuff, Al. We don't know that," I said as I pushed down my hoodie. "Do I look okay?"

"You look good, Bella, trust me," Alice replied with a wink.

That damn wink.

"Come on, bitches, let's make our entrance," Emmett hollered.

I linked arms with Alice, and we walked as quickly as posing humans possibly could. This was like hell. Everyone was staring and whispering.

"_Check out the new kids!__"_

"_Look at the huge one!__"_

"_I wonder where the hell they came from!__"_

"_Wow, look at the blonde girl! Hottie McHot!__"_

I actually laughed at that last one, which pissed Emmett off to no end, and he possessively grabbed Rosalie's ass.

"_Did he just…grab his sister's ass!?__"_

"_They__'__re adopted, you idiot!__"_

I was more than relieved to be inside the actual school, and I could breathe easy, knowing that all those humans were away from me, even for ten minutes. I'd never had a real problem with my bloodlust, but God, I had to admit, some of them smelled pretty good. I looked back at Jazz, finding his eyes black.

"Holding your breath?" I asked, and he nodded stiffly.

"We'll be fine," Alice said, laying her hand on his arm.

The school secretary, Mrs. Cope, handed us our schedules, and I groaned softly as we made our way out to the hall. "Anyone have English first period?"

Jasper nodded, and I felt relief fly through me, although I wasn't quite sure whether it was his or my own.

"You need to chill out, we're only here for a year. Carlizzle said so," Emmett drawled.

Rosalie cuffed Emmett's head. "Stop calling him that! You're not watching MTV anymore!"

"I have Spanish first period, and so does Rose…Emmett has P.E." Alice grinned. "What a shame."

"You suck." Emmett grimaced as he turned, looking for a sign that would direct him to the P.E block. "Ciao, bitches."

"He's been talking like that a lot. It's really starting to annoy me," Jasper said, throwing his irritation out at all of us.

I winced as the bell rang, sounding even louder to my sensitive ears. I hugged Rose and Alice goodbye and set off with Jasper to English.

I was happy to discover that the first assignment was on Wuthering Heights, a favorite book of mine. Lucky for me, I knew it inside out, so I was able to people-watch throughout the whole lesson. I noticed that one boy in particular kept looking back at me, and much to my amusement, he winked at me. I coughed to disguise my laughter as Jasper frowned at the boy.

"Serious case of the lusties, B," he whispered.

"Really?" I said, looking back to the boy and raising my eyebrow. He just gave me this cocky little grin and turned back toward the teacher.

"Staring at the new girl already, Mike?" I heard a nasally voice say, and I turned my head, looking at the girl who was glaring at me under several layers of makeup. She practically looked orange under the florescent lights.

I sniffed in her direction, tracing her scent. She did not smell good; too much perfume was clouding her natural essence.

The bell rang and Jasper sprang up, grabbing my bag as he walked out of the room. I laughed as I watched him storm out, desperate to be away from the mouthwatering kiddies. I had just reached the door when I felt a warm hand grab my arm. I turned around in shock, looking into the face of the winking boy.

"Hey, Isabella, is it?"

I removed his hand from my arm and glared at him. "It's Bella. Just Bella."

"Well, just Bella, I'm Mike. Do you wanna hang after school? Maybe come catch the first-day football game?"

"No she doesn't, asshat. Get your freakin' grubby hands away from my baby sister," Emmett boomed as he stood in the doorway, effectively blocking it.

"D-dude, I'm sorry," Mike stuttered, bolting for the door when Emmett stood aside to let people out.

"Yeah, you'd better be!" Emmett called, grinning evilly.

I sighed, fighting my grin.

_Brothers! _

***

Lunchtime for us was always a challenge; I either looked like a pig as I picked from my family's trays, or I looked like I was ravenous. Rosalie pushed her slice of pizza my way, grimacing as her fingers made minute contact with the slice of heaven. I smirked, picking up the pizza and moaning as I bit into it, licking my lips.

"That's disgusting, but still, it's turning on most of the plebeians in this place," she said, wiping her fingers with the napkin on the table.

I looked around the cafeteria, seeing several sets of eyes on me. I blushed, turning away.

"I hate the fucking staring," I hissed, throwing the pizza down on the tray.

"Stop swearing. You're only ten years old," Jasper said, elbowing me in the side.

I flicked a piece of pepperoni at him, and he caught it in his hand. "Ugh," he said, sniffing it. "Human food is disgusting."

"Well, Bella needs –" Alice cut off, exhaling sharply as her eyes went glassy.

"Shit!" Rosalie cursed, turning Alice's chair toward her to disguise her. Alice's eyes came back into focus, and she leaned in closer, whispering to Rosalie and me.

"We need to go home. Rose, you need to forge the call. Edward's home."

Edward? My absent brother, who sent presents on birthdays and Christmases? Edward, the prodigal son? Edward, who refused to abstain from human blood?

Something wasn't right…

****

I backed the Porsche out of the school lot, taking my time to watch Alice in the mirror as she searched for Edward's future. Rose had successfully sprung us all, and I was driving back with Alice as she prepared me to meet Edward.

I wasn't scared or worried; he wouldn't harm me. I wasn't like the rest of them, but I was different. By the time I plugged my cell into the dash charger, I had three missed calls from Dad.

"Shit, Alice. Why the hell is everyone freaking out about Edward coming home?" I asked as I pulled the speed up along the highway.

Sighing, she turned to face me. "Edward hunts humans because he thinks his gift makes him some sort of would-be God. I've met him, and when Jazz and I last got married, we stayed with Edward on our honeymoon. You have to understand, Bells. Even though you're half vampire, you're still half human. The human half of you smells very appetizing. We're just used to you now, so it's not a smell that makes us…thirsty anymore. But Edward's never smelt it before, and well…"

"You think he'll drain me now and think later?" I asked, panicking slightly, biting my lower lip.

"He won't drain you, Bella," Alice snorted, flicking her hair. "But he'll want to."

"Great," I sighed. "Why can't I ever meet any normal people?"

"I resent that remark," Alice said glaring. "And I'd rather be me than be normal. Normal is boring."

"You sound like Emmett," I said with a smirk. "You and he are like little and large."

She huffed and turned her head, closing her eyes as I pulled into our drive. There, right alongside Carlisle's Mercedes, was a lone silver Volvo.

I parked the Porsche and followed Alice into the house. Carlisle was at the door, holding his hand out for me, causing me to be instantly on edge. Jasper grimaced sympathetically at me as he went to Alice's side.

It was then that I saw him.

Good lord.

His head whipped around, his red eyes boring into mine. I took a step back as his nostrils flared, and he took a step forward, coming at me. His eyes narrowed and he growled at me, "Why can't I hear you!?"

"Excuse me?" I spluttered.

"You. I can't hear one single thought. It's quiet," he said, frustrated.

"How the hell am I supposed to know!?" I hissed, shaking my head.

That was a big mistake.

He inhaled deeply, pulling air in like it was the sweetest ambrosia.

_Smells like freesia, __and the sweetest taste of sin..._

What the hell?

_I wonder what she'__d taste like…, what she__'__d feel like as I took her, sinking my teeth into that perfect neck…, the sound of her skin breaking as her life force flowed over my tongue…_

"I can hear what you're thinking!" I shouted, jumping back.

He looked up, his eyes shining with confusion. "You can hear me?"

I looked him up and down. "Every single word."

He looked at me, gobsmacked. A flurry of thoughts and images ran through his mind.

I turned to Emmett, raising my eyebrows. "And you said he was a prude."

_**~Edward Cullen**_

For ten years, I'd dealt with the overwhelming need to see my family. There'd been something holding me back. The calls and letters from them had become increasingly annoying. They'd all spoken about _her._

My damn replacement, a void that my family had felt the need to fill. Maybe it was the damn fact that I was jealous that I was no longer missed.

I'd left them decades ago. I'd no longer been truly happy with them. I didn't know what it felt like to have a companion in the same way that Esme and Rosalie were to Carlisle and Emmett. I had no idea what it felt like to press my cold, hard, unyielding lips against another's.

I had no idea the extent of the love they felt for each other. I loved my family; that wasn't the problem. It just hadn't been easy watching them together. They were all just so…happy and content.

I had yet to discover that feeling.

I had traded that emotion, _happiness_, with adrenaline, so to speak. It wasn't physically possible for me to produce it. The exhilaration I felt when taking the life of the scum of the earth was overwhelming.

Now…not so much.

Now, I felt guilt. I was no different than them.

I didn't feel guilt for the lives I took. They all deserved it. It just wasn't my place to be their judge and executioner.

Not only that, but I had to live with the sick memories of some the horrific crimes they committed.

Those thoughts and memories were corrupting me.

Sick and sadistic thoughts filled my mind constantly. They were thoughts I would never really be able to repress if I kept up with my current method of hunting.

I started to play with the idea of taking some of the homeless; I felt that surely I would be ending their suffering.

Now, the memories of their suffering plagued my mind. After the third homeless man I'd taken, I knew I couldn't do this any longer.

But I tried here in the northern forests of Canada. I held an irritable bear, sinking my teeth into the flesh, allowing the putrid-smelling blood to fill my mouth.

I spat it back out.

I'd been trying for weeks. I knew I could not go home with red eyes. I had to at least attempt to go back to my previous diet.

I had a scheduled call with Carlisle coming, so I risked going into a small town for a new cell phone. Since I had broken the last one.

I knew they were moving to the Olympic Peninsula soon. Once again, they were posing as the picturesque family, with all the kiddies going off to school, while the doctor is admired by all the nurses.

Though, I did wonder how they were even attempting such a thing with a new member. Surely, surrounding this _Bella_with the temptation of all those hormonal teenagers would prove to be difficult.

Carlisle himself had said that it had been a mere ten years since her rebirth. Why would he even attempt such a thing as high school so soon?

I made my purchase at local electronic store, prepaid. I was able to walk amongst humans without the desire to quench my thirst. They all had such unique scents. Some were more appealing than others, but what made my hunt for human blood more difficult were the thoughts that ran through their minds when they knew they were going to die.

To this day I'd heard the words "I'm going to die' seven thousand seven hundred forty-three times. Not just from the vile humans I'd killed, but from their victims, too.

Some of those hadn't deserved to die.

I wanted to go home, desperately. But I knew I couldn't, yet.

I dialed the number that I knew he would answer, as I drove outside city limits, making my way north.

"Edward."

"Carlisle."

"How are you?"

Sometimes I wished I could hear his thoughts over the phone. It would've helped me decipher his mood. Now he just sounded distant.

"I'm fine. I'm just –"

"What is it, Edward?" he asked somewhat cautiously. I could hear the sounds of papers being rustled in the background.

"I'm tired, Carlisle."

The silence that followed was deafening. I waited; his breathing had increased.

"What are you saying, Edward?" He sounded worried.

"I don't know. My mind is filled with images that I'll never be able to repress. I don't feel like me anymore. I find myself thinking like _they_ do, sometimes."

"Are you saying that you feel the need to kill others, rape women, and destroy families by taking their loved ones?" he asked, his voice betrayed his calm delivery.

"No. Not those types of things."

How do I explain to someone who I respected and saw as my father figure that I felt the desire to sink my teeth into the bosom of a woman as I plunged into her over and over again? I had not found any of the women, human or vampire, that I'd seen lately appealing. Their thoughts usually squashed any attraction.

"If you're seeking companionship and family, we're here, Edward. We've always been here. But, I warn you…you must stick with our way of life."

In other words, drinking from humans was off limits.

"I'm trying, Carlisle. I can't seem to hold any of the…_animal_ blood down."

There was a dark chuckle from my father. "Did you think it would be easy to transition back into our way of life?"

"It's been weeks, Carlisle. I've been trying for weeks."

"It's not going to be easy. Give it more time. You need to. Plus, it will give us more time to, um, prepare for your arrival."

What? Why?

I growled – her.

"Why would you need to prepare?" I asked through clenched teeth.

"Well, we have to build you a new room."

"Why? I've always had the top floor bedroom when we stay in Forks."

"Yes, but Bella is here with us now. It's hers."

I growled. She was taking everything from me. My family, their love, and now my room?

What was next?

"That room was the only one that allowed me some semblance of privacy and a quick escape out the damn window!" I roared, wishing we were having this conversation face to face.

"You have no right to take your anger out on me or the rest of the family. We have not seen you in years. I had no idea that you would choose now to come home," he said, his tone clearly angry.

"Well, I want to come home, so I want my room," I said, like a petulant child.

"No."

His answer was short and simple. It annoyed me that he refused to see reason. I'd been there first.

"Just where do you plan for me to stay if I decide to come home?"

"Frankly, Edward, I don't think it's wise to for you to come at the moment. Esme and I want you here more than anything – you are our son and we love you, but just…not until your desire for human blood is more controllable."

"I can control myself. I walked into a store to buy a phone and did not have any problems," I stated, trying to convince both him and myself.

"Yes, but how long did you hold your breath?"

I huffed. I didn't answer. I'd held my breath for eleven minutes, waiting for the damn cashier to figure out how to ring up a damn prepaid phone.

"That makes no difference. I'm strong enough to control myself."

I heard him sigh. "The room will remain Bella's. If you want to come home, we can change the extra bathroom and storage room on the same floor into your room. We'll make it as close to the same style to your old room as we can."

"How long?"

"Give us a few weeks. It will give you more time to grow accustomed to animal blood."

A few weeks? I was less than a day away.

I heard the sound of footsteps coming from Carlisle's end and a door being opened.

"Hey, Dad, we just passed by the school. Are you sure you're not sending me to purgatory?" a soothing, sensual voice said. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see..."

"Hold on, sweetheart. I'm on a call."

_Sweetheart?_

"No problem, Pops. I'm heading up to my room. I love all the shelves. I can fill them with my books. Love you!"

"Edward?" Carlisle said, waiting. He wanted me to hear her.

"I see that I'm not longer needed."

I hung up the phone.

She called him "Dad?"

She sounded so young.

She sounded…_sensual_. The sound of her voice, it – _called_ to me.

***

Three days had passed since I'd spoken with my father, and I couldn't get our last conversation out of my head. Someone had taken my place among my family.

Invaded my home.

Invaded my room.

Invaded my thoughts.

My family had all given me descriptions of the new vampire. They'd never offered pictures, which I'd always found strange. Her voice and their descriptions alone were enough fuel a few fantasies to help with my current situation.

I'd had to resort to this more and more since my switch back to animal blood. Especially after I'd heard her voice.

I rested my forehead against the rough bark of the tree; I quickly removed my cock from the confines of my jeans.

"_Edward," she said__, her voice a throaty whisper. Her dark hair fanned around her__, the grass beneath her tickling the pale skin of her naked back._

"_Yes," I whispered, taking her ear in between my lip__s, suckling on it gently. Her granite skin was sweet under my tongue._

"_I need you," she gasped a__s my fingers played with her folds. She was so wet. She was so very much _mine.

_I watched as her caramel eyes turned almost black as her desire for me increased. I inhaled deeply, enjoying the sweet scent of her arousal._

"_With pleasure," I said__ huskily. In one quick movement, we were joined. We both moaned from the feeling of me filling her. She was made for me. Every inch of my cock was being squeezed by her tight, wet pussy._

_This wasn__'__t going to be gentle. I needed her as much as she needed me. I wanted deeper, faster, harder and fucking animalistic. _

"_Ready?" I asked__ before taking one of her nipples in my awaiting mouth._

"_Yes," she cried out, her fingernails digging into the skin of my back. I groaned, enjoying the slight pain as I increased the force and depth of my thrusts._

"_Edward," she said in perfect unison of my thrusts. Over and __over again, my name left her lips, showing the pleasure that only I brought her. Her hips met me thrust for thrust, taking me in deeper and harder._

"_Faster," she growled, only__ further fueling my desire for her body._

"_Fuck," I growled back, taking her leg and draping it over my shoulder._

_I fell back on my knees and increased the pressure and speed of my thrusts._

"_Edward!" she __screamed, clutching her head and closing her eyes in ecstasy. __Her walls tightened and clenched around me._

"_Not yet, Bella," I roared._

_She bit her plump bottom lip and closed her eyes, fighting off her need to come. I kept on, and I felt the pressure in my abdomen, telling me I was close._

_Bella__'__s screams increased, scaring away flocks of birds and every living creature in the vicinity. I was sure my family could hear her – hear us. _

_Take that, Emmett. What was that you called me? Prude?_

_I fucked her harder and faster, and then I screamed, "Now!"_

I groaned, watching streams of my venom hit the tree trunk. I collapsed on my knees.

I had to go home _now_.

I wondered if this had been Carlisle's plan all along, another attempt at finding me a mate.

***

I stopped for gas a few hours later, putting on a dark shade of sunglasses to hide my eyes. After many barely-successful attempts at hunting animals, my eyes still remained red.

I filled the tank up in my Volvo. I was putting on the gas cap when I heard something from inside.

"Fill up the bag with the money and no one gets hurt," a rough voice said from inside the small gas station.

I groaned. _T__his will not end well, _I thought. He was already thinking about killing the old man sitting behind the cash register.

I just couldn't stand here. I quickly looked at my reflection in the mirror – nothing recognizable. The beanie I was wearing currently covered my shocking hair color. The collar of the jacket I had on hid my face from cameras, and the glasses hid my eyes. I quickly parked my car several blocks away, keeping my mind on the old man to watch.

I walked toward the store. I heard the old man begging the armed robber not to hurt him. "George, what's going on out there?" A woman's voice could be heard from the back of the store.

I opened the front door, alerting them all of my presence. The man with the gun turned his weapon toward me, the barrel of his shotgun just inches from my chest.

I read his thoughts and realized this was not his first time. All of his attempts at armed robbery had led to someone's death. I growled, causing him to back away. I grabbed the barrel of the gun, pointing it upward. It went off, causing the older couple to cower behind the countertop, and the CCTV camera was seemingly destroyed. I snapped his wrist and took him by the collar. I threw the gun across the store, smashing a display of some stupid energy drink.

In a low whisper, I threatened the man. "You've killed many people, and they didn't deserve it."

He shook his head in shock. Taking him by force, I led him out the store front and went into the back alley.

He wouldn't be bothering anyone any longer.

I wiped my mouth and quickly disposed of the body miles away from the store. It was time for me to go home.

***

My father's car was in the driveway as I pulled up. I could hear that he was home, along with Esme. I turned off the car and looked in my rearview mirror. My eyes were still red but were rimmed with gold.

After feeding off the pathetic thief, I'd gorged myself on animals to at least make it seem like I was trying. I felt like I'd failed completely. I had no idea if Carlisle would still accept me.

I walked up the familiar path to a home I'd lived in many years ago. I was about to knock on the door, no longer feeling like I should just walk in. The door flew open suddenly, before my hand was able to meet the wood.

"Edward," Carlisle said, pulling the door aside so that I could enter.

"Carlisle," I said, brushing past him. He pulled me back by my coat and hugged me, holding on to me like he hadn't seen me in decades…which in all truth, he hadn't. He hadn't seen the real me in a long time.

Once in the foyer, he looked at my appearance, his eyes lingering on mine. I averted them, looking around the house. Some of the older furnishing had been replaced with more fashionable ones. The TV in the living room had not only increased in size had flattened.

There were pictures on the mantel; something I had never seen before. We normally didn't take pictures, since we had a photographic memory. Why would they now?

Most of them consisted of a baby in various stages of her first year of life. Dark curly hair and round red cheeks appeared in all of them. In some, she was pictured with Rosalie or Esme, others with my brothers.

Then it hit me. _Bella was human_?

I looked at Carlisle in question.

"She's not human, Edward. She's Charles' daughter."

Surely, he was fucking joking. Then his mind replayed the events from Charles' annual phone call to when Bella had entered their lives.

"She's half vampire and half human?" My mind reeled with the possibilities. I took a deep breath, and I regretted it almost instantly.

The sweetest smell I had _ever_ come across filled my entire being.

_So fucking sweet. _

I ran up the stairs, Carlisle quick on my heels. I threw my door open and took in the appearance of my room.

Bloody fucking purple in various shades. There was a large king-size bed in the center of the room, covered in a pile of pillows and a dark silk comforter. The west wall was filled with books and _my _music and some new stuff I didn't recognize. There on the desk was a purple iMac. Behind it was a cork board filled with pictures of my family and drawings.

Beside the wall of windows was a large black chaise.

I turned back to Carlisle, who was looking at Bella's bed. "She sleeps. She eats either human food or animal blood. She prefers not to hunt, but her body sometimes craves it. She's warmer than most humans. From what we know, her skin is almost as strong as ours. She runs fast but –" he chuckled "– she sometimes trips over her own feet. She's absolutely beautiful."

He _loved_ her – loved her like she was his own daughter. His mind was filled with memories, some of them painful, watching her grow so fast had scared all of them.

She had stopped growing just a few months ago.

I took a deep breath; her scent permeated every surface. Carlisle's head snapped toward me. He watched me warily.

I smirked. "She smells s_o good_."

Carlisle was on the phone, running past me. He was going to warn them.

Let them. I wouldn't harm the little…what the hell did you call her? Surely Halfling was offensive. Hybrid, maybe?

I heard the sound of tires screeching into our driveway just a few miles away.

Looked like the little…_girl_ was home. I slowly descended the stairs; both Carlisle and Esme were uneasy.

They both feared for their adopted daughter. Esme's mind felt relief for my arrival home and fear that Bella and I wouldn't get along. She never once thought I would take Bella's life.

"Edward," Carlisle said, "if her scent is too much for you, you may have to leave. I don't want you to, son, but she needs us."

They would choose her over me?

"I have no intentions of hurting her, much less biting her." _Unless, of course, she asks me to._

I heard the crunch of the gravel as two cars pulled up. I could hear the thoughts of my family.

_If lays one finger on her, I'__ll kill him. _Rosalie's maternal thoughts continued much in the same way.

_Ugh…I hate not knowing what'__s going to happen. _Alice's thoughts were filled with concern, since she wasn't able to see Bella's future.

She'd never been able to. She relied on watching "around" her to see their futures.

Hmm…interesting, might prove useful.

_My baby sister…he wouldn'__t hurt her. He__'__ll never get a chance to. _Emmett's mind was racing with thoughts of taking me down. Okay, you fabulously oversized meat head.

_He seems calm, but there'__s an undercurrent of something else there. _Jasper was already sensing my emotions.

Then as I listened for the other mind, but I came up blank. There seemed to be no one else with my siblings. However, I could distinctly hear her heart beating like a humming bird.

Carlisle went to meet them at the door.

I turned to see the creature and to see what all the fuss was about.

I took a small breath and was hit with her overwhelmingscent. So sweet, so warm. I could feel the heat radiating off her body.

Her body, oh _God,_ her body. There she stood, her quiet mind only making the sound of her beating heart excruciatingly louder. The sound of her blood pumping through her body was only fueling my hunger.

Hunger I thought I'd quenched mere hours ago. There she stood, her nipples erect, and all I wanted was a taste. Not only of her sweet-scented blood but of her skin, covered in layers of clothing.

My eyes narrowed; I couldn't understand why I felt this need. This damn urge, now. Why couldn't I hear her thoughts?

"Why can't I hear you!?" I growled, remaining in place but dying to take a step closer. I was aware of the sudden tension in the air.

"Excuse me?" she asked, taking a small step back.

"You. I can't hear one single thought. It's quiet," I said, frustrated. I concentrated on her mind, shutting everyone else out. Nothing. Fucking nothing.

"How the hell am I supposed to know!?" she hissed, shaking her head, causing her luscious scent to hit me.

I inhaled deeply, savoring her scent on my tongue. My thoughts lingered on her scent.

_Smells like freesia and the sweetest taste of sin…_

_I wonder what she'__d taste like…, what she__'__d feel like as I took her, sinking my teeth into that perfect neck…, the sound of her skin breaking as her life force flowed over my tongue…_

"I can hear what you're thinking!" she screamed, pointing an accusatory finger and jumping back from me.

What? That wasn't possible. "You can hear me?"

Her eyes raked over my body before answering. "Every single word."

I looked at her exquisite form. My fantasy did her _no_ justice. She was even more beautiful than I imagined, and so _warm_.

Her fitted white dress shirt curved over her supple breasts, her nipples still peeking through the thin fabric. The flare of her hips called for my hands to hold and to bring her closer. Her legs were covered in painted-on grey tights that matched the grey waist coat. Her long hair cascaded down her back, my eyes lingering on the curve of her ass. Fucking perfection.

My eyes returned to her beautiful heart-shaped face like pale marble but with pink tinged cheeks.

Her eyes were not like the others. They were a deep chocolate, so warm and filled with questions. This might be a way to help decipher her thoughts.

Suddenly, my thoughts returned to the fantasy as I took her to pleasurable heights in the meadow just miles from here. I was hard in an instant.

She smirked at me and then turned to Emmett, cocking her eyebrows. "And you said he was a prude."

Emmett looked at Bella and then at me. He looked down at my crotch. Oh, J_esus on a pogo stick._

Emmett erupted into laughter.


	2. Hunting For Two

******AN: Beta'd by lisa89. Carlisle and Edward's POV's written by me, and Bella's written by the talented Emerald_Rosalie. Enjoy.**

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The Taste of Sin

**Chapter Two – Hunting for Two**

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~Bella

Emmett looked expectantly between Edward and me; I didn't know whether I liked the expression on his overly eager face. I was a little scared, if I was honest with myself.

This man was like an enigma to his whole family, and here I was, the outsider in a house full of gods. Not that I didn't love each and every single one of them. But this – this man. Holy hell, he was _nothing _like I had imagined. He was both shockingly beautiful and made _me, _of all people, feel like I was the most desired thing in his world.

_Plus, the reading thoughts thing?_

Okay, hearing what Edward was thinking, primarily about me, was exciting. It made me feel like there was this connection between us. It felt weird to think that Edward was having these kinds of feelings toward me. I was so not in Edward's league.

He belonged up there with Rosalie and Jasper in the Garden of Eden, where all the other beautiful people hailed from.

_I can smell her, Jesu__s, I need to taste her…_

I looked at him, raising my eyebrow at the blatant sexual suggestiveness of his thoughts, and I crossed my legs. He looked away, and I knew that if he could, he would be blushing. The fact that I could read his thoughts probably scared him. Could I blame him? I'd be mortified if he could read my mind on a more permanent basis.

Thankfully, he couldn't.

Emmett's eyes were darting between us, and I smirked as he winked at me.

"God damn it, Eddie. That is one impressive boner," he teased.

Jasper grinned and put his hand over Alice's eyes. "Don't look, baby, it's a rare occurrence, and it will blind you."

"Edward," Rosalie growled, "I want a word with you. Now."

Rosalie stalked off into the living room, and Edward followed, albeit grudgingly, after her.

I looked at Emmett, who as soon as the door had slammed shut, bolted over. I slapped him on the head and pressed my ear to the door for comedic effect.

"You think you can swan in here and take her from me – from us?" Rosalie whispered. "Well, you're wrong, Edward. She deserves better than you."

"Rosalie, I understand you love Bella – it shines clearly in your thoughts and in everyone else's. But I am not going to hurt her," Edward replied.

"You bet your pale ass you won't, because it's not just me who would die for her. It's all of us. And don't think we wouldn't hesitate to burn you if you did," Rosalie hissed.

"You forget, sister, that I was a part of this family before you. So don't lord it over me, okay? Have some fucking respect, and don't judge me before anything has even happened."

"Whoa," Emmett breathed, "I've gotta respect him for calling out my wife."

"Emmett Cullen!" Rosalie growled, nearly yanking the door off its hinges.

"Babe…" Emmett said, warily.

"Don't babe me, Emmett. You said you'd rip his face off if he hurt her!"

"Oh, but that would be a crime," I laughed. "It's so pretty."

"Yeah, he is _pretty_ alright," Jasper said grinning.

"Says the man with the tousled blonde hair that he has his _wife_ style every morning," I retorted.

"Alice!" Jasper gasped, horrified that she had ratted him out.

Alice glared at me, and I stuck my tongue out. Edward's thoughts were contradicting whatever shit he'd just told Rosalie.

Because he certainly did want to hurt me, just not in the way she thought. I could see his dirty little sexual fantasies as if I was watching one of Emmett's DVDs , which he used when Rosalie froze him out for sex.

Oh yeah, _those _kinds of movies.

Edward looked up at me, and I felt my heartbeat speed up. His eyes, his deep scarlet eyes, were just so mesmerizing that Jesus H I felt like I needed to do something. The adrenaline was rushing through my veins.

"Bells?" I heard a voice ask as I stared at Edward. It didn't help that the cocky bastard was toting a fuck-me smirk.

"Yeah?" I replied, not taking my eyes away from him.

"Can you stop? I'm dying over here," Jasper hissed, and I looked away from Edward, horrified.

"I'm so sorry, Jazz," I said, putting my hand over my eyes.

Okay, having pangs of the lusties for Edward was one thing, but actually influencing my brother was another. We all knew how sensitive Jasper was to emotions, and from me, it was much worse.

Especially when I'd gotten my first mini period – talk about emotional roller coaster. I'd been five years old and had driven Jasper crazy.

My body gave off pheromones, which attracted males to me during ovulation. And my menstrual blood was enriched with pheromones. Rosalie had freaked out when she'd seen Emmett sniffing me. He'd never been able to live it down. Esme had made the wise decision to take me to Alaska when that time arose again. It was much easier.

I looked around the room; Dad was looking at Edward, who was looking at me. Rosalie was glaring at Edward while Emmett stood smirking at Jasper, who was trying to conceal his boner. Alice was giggling in the corner, smiling at both Edward and me.

"Y'all are crazy," Jasper hissed and took off up the stairs.

"Oh, put a sock in it, Major Bonehard," Emmett called to him as he slammed the bedroom door.

I turned toward the kitchen, trying desperately to make my escape. I couldn't think about this around my family, they all knew me too well, and let's face it, I was easily readable.

"Um, so I think I'm gonna go hunt."

"Wait," Edward said, and I turned on my heel, looking straight at him. He was facing Carlisle. "You let her go out alone?"

"Excuse me, asshole. I'm ten years old, and unless I'm very much mistaken, I _look _seventeen years old. So yes, they let me go out on my own," I said, glaring at him.

He turned his scarlet eyes on me, and my heart did this weird fluttery thing. I couldn't pretend I didn't like it, because I honestly did.

"Calm down, and don't get your panties in a twist. I was just concerned."

"Well, if you're so concerned, why don't you just _come _with me?" I said, winking at him.

"Oh, hell no!" boomed Emmett.

I sighed and turned my eyes on my big brother. I batted my eyelashes on him and watched as he turned to goo.

"Bells, I don't want you getting hurt, baby girl."

"I'm not a baby anymore, Em." I smiled sweetly.

"I'll go hunting with her. She can show me where all the good game are," Edward said, gesturing to Carlisle.

"Well, son, I'm not sure that's a good idea…" Dad said, looking at both me and Edward.

He was clearly worried about Edward hunting near me. He would have to lose himself to his senses, to hunt when my sweet blood was so close.

"He won't hurt me, Dad, calm down. Plus, I haven't hunted in over a week," I said, pouting.

_Hell yes. I know how to get what I want. _

"Take your cell phone, Bella. And be back before dark," Esme said, smiling warmly at me. She seemed overjoyed, for some reason.

_I love you, Mom. _

"I am not happy about this!" Rosalie shouted and stomped off to her room.

Emmett sighed and rolled his eyes. "You kids have fun, and stay safe. Remember; you can't go wrong if you shield your dong."

"Eww, Emmett!" Alice said, shaking her head. "There are some things I never wanna think about my baby sister doing!"

Emmett stuck his tongue out and followed Rosalie up the stairs, leaving Alice, Mom, Dad, Edward and me alone together.

"Well…" Edward said, gesturing toward the back door. "Shall we, Bella?"

Even hearing him say my name aloud made me hot.

Damn.

I smiled brightly at Alice, who winked and ushered us out. I took a deep breath as the patio doors closed behind us, leaving me and ol' Red Eyes alone. I started to absentmindedly hum "My Way" as I pulled on the hem of my hoodie dress thing.

I gasped as Edward seized me by the waist and threw me onto his back.

"I can walk you know!" I shouted as I wrapped my legs around him.

Edward groaned as I tightened my thighs around him and placed my chin on his shoulder.

"Maybe I just wanted to feel those legs wrapped around me."

I blushed and pressed my mouth to his ear. "If you're lucky, they may be wrapped around you in _very_ different circumstances."

He growled and took off, running through the trees at full vampire speed. I laughed and clutched at his back as he weaved in and out of the trees, dodging roots and branches that came into view. I grinned and clamped my legs around him, and he halted to a stop right in the center of the forest.

"You play a dangerous game with me, Bella. I'm not house-trained like the rest of our family. I like _real _blood, little one. I'm the bad thing in the night that Daddy C always wanted to keep from you. So here I am, little one, and you're mine," he growled.

I slipped down his back and pressed myself against him.

_Perfect tits, so full and round__. I wonder what her little pink nipples would taste like…_

"Such a dirty little mind, Eddie. Anyone would think you'd never gotten any," I said, playfully grabbing his ass.

He whirled me round and pressed his nose to my pulse point, and I could feel my heart pounding against my chest as he dragged his tongue along my collarbone. "How I wish I could sink my teeth into you, just taste you once…"

"Didn't I tell you?" I panted as his hands wandered up my thigh. "Venom doesn't affect me."

I nearly screamed as he sunk his teeth into my neck, and I felt him sucking at my life force. It felt like a thousand tiny pleasure-filled pulses were pounding through my body. I began to ride his hand as it cupped my center, anything to gain another ounce of pleasure.

"Edward!" I cried as he pulled away, shredding my tights at my crotch. He looked me in the eye, and I was dumbstruck by how much it turned me on seeing my blood smeared all over his lips. I leaned forward and ran my tongue over his bottom lip. I was surprised by the sweetness of my blood, although I could definitely taste the venom interlaced with it. It didn't taste that bad; in fact, it was quite tempting.

"I want to taste you here," he said thickly. He grabbed my center and ran his fingers along the edge of my panties, pressing his thumb into my pussy. I cried out and he wiggled his thumb, sending shocks through my body. "I want to mark you so that every fucking man, beast and vampire knows who you belong to. This body is mine, this _blood, _you are mine."

"Yes!" I hissed as my world exploded. Tiny little lights danced behind my eyelids, and I realized there was a reason Rosalie wasn't a total bitch twenty-four-seven. If Emmett made her feel half as good as this, she should have been smiling all the frickin' time.

But as for now, I was here with Edward, and at that moment, it felt right.

_**~Edward**_

I wasn't sure when I'd made the decision to make her mine.

Was it the moment I'd first heard her sultry voice over the phone?

Was it the moment her scent had permeated my sense of smell?

Was it the moment I'd first seen her?

Was it the moment I'd realized she was everything I needed in this world?

Warmth.

Intellect.

Innocence.

Beauty.

A quiet mind.

A body to die for.

They were all endearing qualities for anyone with a pulse. I had no pulse.

I had a cock that needed attention, and it wanted _her_ attention.

I felt every heaving pant from her chest as it pressed against mine. I watched my little one come down from her high, a high that only I would ever be giving her. Of course, only when I allowed her to.

"Now it's my turn," I purred in my thoughts, knowing she would hear me.

Her eyes snapped open, and I smirked at her obvious arousal at the thought of touching me. I growled when a fresh flow of her musky, sweet scent permeated the air.

Apparently, dirty thoughts and growling turned her on.

I smiled down at her before darting out my tongue; a spot of her blood present at the top bow of her lips called to me. No need to be wasteful.

She moaned and turned her face toward my tongue; she sucked it into her hot mouth. I groaned and threw her up against a tree, effectively severing the top half of it.

_So durable_I thought.

I groped her firm ass and she hopped up, wrapping her strong limbs around my waist.

_It looks like I've got those legs wrapped around me again, little one. _

She moaned into my mouth, swiping her tongue against mine, seeking dominance.

_Ah, ah, I'__m the master here, little one._

She ground her center against my abdomen, causing my lower body to react, twitching in anticipation. I squeezed her tight little ass harder, guiding her to move against my cock. I wanted into her sweet pussy, now.

Then her phone rang.

"Shit. It's probably Alice," she gasped.

I rolled my eyes and took her phone that was tucked in her pocket. She looked up at me, and I smirked. I slid the phone open, putting it to my ear, my eyes locked with Bella's penetrating gaze.

"Alice," I hissed.

"You can't do anything like that yet," she said.

Bella's brow furrowed as she listened in.

"She says venom doesn't affect her."

"No it doesn't, but right now, you're not strong enough to stop yourself from draining her."

Bella's widened, and her breathing became more labored.

"I stopped before," I growled. Stupid annoying pixie. Bella's legs loosened around me.

_Fucking cock-blocking Alice._

"You won't be able to stop if you take her right now."

I slid the phone shut and pocketed it. I looked back down at Bella, who was looking behind me.

"Bella," I whispered, leaning in and smelling the skin of her neck. She returned her attention to me. She kissed my lips chastely.

Her hands pushed against my chest, but I ground against her. "Let's hunt first, and we'll see how you feel then."

I sighed and released her reluctantly. She darted around me and sniffed the air; I watched, entranced with her lithe movements. She ran ahead with me on her heels. She was following the scent of a small herd of elk about a mile east. She ran full speed. She wasn't as fast as me, but she was much faster than most of my family.

Her lovely hair whipped behind her before she came to halt beside the river. She sniffed the air again, getting the elks' position just across the river. She turned, looking over her shoulder, and winked. She took two steps back and then three steps forward, leaping through the air, somersaulting before landing on the other side.

"Show off," I grumbled, earning a quiet giggle. I couldn't help but smile at the sound. I watched as she crouched low to the ground and then pounced on the unsuspecting male, crushing its air supply before sinking her teeth into the fur.

It was incredibly arousing watching her hunt, the way her tight little body moved, the feral sounds she made as she sucked the blood into her mouth. I growled and quickly pounced on two other elk by the time she'd finished with her first.

She dropped the carcass on the ground and watched me. I wiped the blood from my mouth and stood, stalking toward her. Her eyes darkened perceptively, causing me to smirk a little.

"Looks like you're still hungry," I crooned, pulling her into my arms.

She smirked and palmed me. "It looks like you're still _hard_."

I growled, bucking my hips against her warm hand. I crashed my lips against hers. She struggled against me and then pushed me off and laughed, running away.

"I always love a good chase, little one!" I called out, running right behind her.

Her laughter filled my ears as she darted suddenly in another direction. I heard her feet shift again, changing directions, but this time I was ready for it. I shifted and ran right into her, scooping her into my arms. I flung her over my shoulder and climbed a large tree one-handed.

She screamed and swatted my ass ineffectively all the way to the upper canopy.

I settled her feet down on a limb, her pert breasts brushing against me as she slid down my body. I groaned, wrapping an arm around her.

She smiled widely, looking around her. She turned back to me and laughed. "You're the first one to ever let me climb so high."

Her eyes danced merrily as she watched a flock of birds fly away from a cropping of trees beside us.

"Why is that?" I asked, confused. She seemed durable enough to me.

"Well, I had an accident when I was younger. I woke up, and just Carlisle was home. I fell down a two flights of stairs trying to get to him. I was , maybe by human standards, seven years old. I should've died. Carlisle said my neck was broken. He tried to change me."

Her voice quieted, barely perceptible to anyone other than my kind. "My guess is that was when he figured out venom doesn't affect you."

She nodded. "He bit me several times, but the venom dissipated before it had a chance to run its course. No matter how many times he bit me, it just didn't work. Then suddenly I started healing on my own. He worked for hours, resetting my bones over and over again. It was agony."

I cringed at the pain in her voice, as she relived the memory. She shrugged in response to my thoughts. "After a few days I was as good as new. Even the venom bites disappeared." She touched where I had bitten her, and sure enough, there was no silver texture that usually occurred from a vampire bite. "Since then, they haven't wanted to test my luck."

"So, in other words, they're keeping you like a caged kitten?" I teased, purring playfully.

She laughed, rolling her eyes. "I got paroled for good behavior. They just allowed me to hunt on my own. No bears allowed, though."

I grinned and shook my head. "That's hardly fair. They're much tastier."

"Emmett catches the grizzlies for me," she said, sniffing the air again. "But only when they're irritable and partially dead. Goon loves the chase, you know?"

I smelled the air, her scent causing me to pull her closer. She smelled so much sweeter than any of the game here.

"Mmm…mountain lion," she purred, the moan going straight to my groin.

I threw her on my back again and jumped off the branch, landing on the ground in a crouched position, taking the force of the fall. She might have been a hybrid, but like my family thought, she might not be that durable.

She huffed against my neck in annoyance at my thoughts.

"Hmm…you reading my thoughts _is_ annoying," I complained.

"Yes, it is. It doesn't help that I can hear everyone else, too."

I grabbed her and pulled her into my arms. "What does that mean?"

"I heard everyone's thoughts too. Rosalie was screaming like a banshee. Being that the family consists of vampires, there were way too many thoughts. They were starting to blend together."

"Hmm…strange. Does that happen with Jasper and Alice's powers? Do they bounce back like mine?"

She shook her head.

"What else can you do?" I asked, setting her down on her feet.

She closed her eyes and asked for me to do the same. Suddenly, I couldn't smell her anymore. My eyes snapped open, thinking that she'd run, but she was standing right in front of me.

"I don't like that," I growled, hating that her sweet scent was gone. It was like someone had pulled my lungs and heart out from my chest.

I _needed_ to smell her.

Her scent filled my nostrils, hitting me as hard as the first time. I clenched my fists and tightened my body, fighting the urge to drain every precious drop from her body.

She cocked her head and grinned. She didn't show any fear at my thoughts.

She sniffed the air again and took off. I followed, watching her hunt a mountain lion. It was up ahead in a tree, watching us. She turned to look at me.

"You won't rat me out?" she asked, licking her plump lips. I shook my head at her, motioning with my hand for her to continue. She grinned and then jumped up to the same branch as her prey.

The cat growled and swatted at her ineffectively. Bella jumped on the lioness, causing the branch to give way. Their bodies fell to the ground with a loud thud. I ran to check on her, and she looked up from her prey, blood dripping from her mouth.

She growled at me, defending her kill. I returned her growl because frankly, what I wanted to do at this moment had _nothing_ to do with her kill.

She drained the lion and threw it off her. She stalked toward me, purring under her breath. I crooked a finger, asking her to come to me.

She complied.

_Fucking perfect, my little one. _

I pulled her closer and licked at her chin and lips. "Mmm… delicious, Bella," I groaned as her hand rubbed against my clothed erection. "If I lick all my meals off your body, I'll have no problem keeping to my diet."

She pulled away, pouting. I furrowed my brow, wondering what I'd said that bothered her.

"Does that mean you won't _bite_ –" she snapped her jaw "– me anymore?"

I groaned, bucking my hips against her hand. "I don't mind biting you, but I'm sure –"

"– Dad will," she finished.

I nodded. "Well then, we'll have to make sure to take full advantage of my red eyes for the next few days." I nipped at her neck, pulling her hips against me harder, seeking friction.

A tiny drop of blood came out of the miniscule wound. I darted my tongue out, licking it off her sweet skin. I caught two more precious drops before the wound healed itself.

"Unless," she gasped, her hands tightening around my biceps. "Oh God, Edward," she whispered as my lips descended to the swell of her breasts.

I chuckled at her breathy tone. "I'm no God, little one. I thought we established that." I sucked on the swell of her left breast, hard.

I couldn't fucking mark her.

That shit pissed me off.

She was mine. She knew it. I knew it.

I wanted to mark her as mine.

My bite would leave no distinguishing mark. It would have alerted others of my kind who she belonged to.

I wanted to find some way to mark her.

I pulled away, swirling my tongue over the purple area. I grinned, proud that I had found a way.

Then it started to fade.

"You bruise, but your natural healing ability heals it right way?" I asked, looking up at her.

She chuckled, looking at the fading mark. "Yes, I do. It takes about an hour to disappear, though."

"That's too bad. I'll have to write you in for a brief session of heavy groping and sucking every hour then," I quipped, turning my attention back to her breasts.

My hands left her hips and slid up under her dress. I groaned when I met the bare skin of her stomach. I thrust my tongue in her mouth, exploring everything. I probed the roof of her mouth, her molars, her slightly less sharp teeth and the length of her tongue. She writhed against me, bucking her hips against mine with more force.

My hands ascended higher until I met the underside of her breasts. I hissed in her mouth when her hand tightened around my cock. I groped her breasts roughly, causing her to cry out.

I pulled back, making sure I didn't hurt her. I was sure I hadn't used enough pressure to hurt her.

"Do that again," she pleaded.

I smiled wickedly. "With pleasure, little one." I kissed the length of her neck as my fingers continued asserting pressure around her full, heaving breasts. My thumbs grazed her nipples, causing them to harden instantly.

"Edward," she gasped, grinding against my thigh. I felt her juices dripping from the torn fabric of her tights. I took her hand that wasn't preoccupied with my cock and slid it down her body. With her hand in mine, we circled her clit, causing her to tremble against me.

Once I felt sufficient wetness on our fingers, I brought them to my lips. She watched me sweep the sweet ambrosia on my tongue, our lidded eyes locked.

I groaned, dropping my head on her shoulder. "I want you, now."

"Take me," she gasped, my fingers pinching her hardened peak.

Then the phone rang, _again_.

_I__'__m so fucking up her Porsche._

"Alice, I thought you couldn't see her," I growled.

"I can't. But a moment ago, I saw her naked body, dead in your arms."

She only saw our future once Bella was dead.

"I won't bite her," I insisted.

"It's a natural reaction for you, dear brother," she spat.

I growled again in frustration, wanting to crush the tiny phone in my hand.

"Don't you dare break her –" I ended the call with a pleasant crunch of broken plastic before it turned to dust.

"Hey, I needed that!" Bella screeched.

"I'll get you a new one," I said. I pulled away from her, but not before placing a few more chaste kisses on her mouth and pinching her nipple once more.

"I don't want a new one. What if I had someone special's number in there?"

I glared at her and released the dust from the palm of my hand. "Then all the more reason to _crush_ it."

"Are you saying I can't have friends? Because if that's the case, then you can take this –" she groped me hard "– somewhere else."

I bucked my hips against her. "I don't mind you having friends. Just remember, you're _mine._"

"We'd better go back before they send Rosalie out to find us," she said, completely changing the subject.

I had no idea what to make of the sudden avoidance. It seemed like she was confused. I didn't press for her to speak. She and I would come to an understanding soon enough.

By nature, I had needs that needed to be sated. Was that all that Bella was to me, a way to fulfill my needs? Could it be more? Would she want more?

Bella averted her eyes, no doubt listening to all my internal ramblings. If she was listening, she refused to speak of it.

She started straightening out her clothes. I helped her, running my hands over all her curves, causing another flow of arousal to flow from my little one.

She slapped my hand away and took off running toward the house. I followed, matching my stride to hers.

We approached the patio doors when I was suddenly struck with the thoughts of Emmett trying to pick an appropriate place for a wrestling match, starring himself and me.

I quickly dodged him as he barreled past me, landing in Esme's small garden fountain.

"Emmett, you're paying for that!" Esme screamed from her office.

Emmett grumbled to himself, walking back in the house. Bella laughed at our brother, the sound truly enchanting.

"Bella and Edward, in my study, _now_," Carlisle's firm voice called from upstairs.

"Oooo…Eddie and Bella are in trouble," Emmett teased as Bella and I ascended the stairs.

Emmett sniffed the air and was at Bella's side in an instant.

"Mountain lion!" he roared.

_That did it._

Everyone came running into the room. Rosalie's hands hovered over Bella, checking for injuries.

Esme watched Rosalie's assessment, chewing her lower lip. Carlisle was glaring at me disapprovingly.

Alice and Jasper were fooling around at the bottom of the stairs in the midst of foreplay. Apparently, Bella and I were still, as Emmett would say, _horny_.

"Um…Edward caught it for me," Bella lied, albeit terribly.

I put my hands up in the air in defense. "No one told me she can't play with the big game," I stated, causing Bella's eyes to roll.

"Well, she can't!" Rosalie spat. "We have no idea if claws will penetrate her skin."

"Ugh, this is so stupid. I don't need babysitters!" Bella screamed, running up the stairs to _my_ room, slamming the door shut.

I chuckled at her display. My little one was feisty. She was like a burning flame that would never be distinguished. Furious, robust and like a roaring fire at times, when she was angry. Other times she was like the burning embers of a dying fire, when she was demure and shy.

Everyone moved to go upstairs to follow her, but they stopped when she turned her stereo full blast with "Whatever" by Godsmack. It suited her current mood**.**

_And I wonder day by day_

_I don__'__t like you anyway_

_I don__'__t need your shit today_

_You__'__re pathetic, in your own way_

_I feel for you, better fuckin__'__ go away_

_I will behave, better fuckin__'__ go away_

I cocked an eyebrow toward my family still climbing the stairs. "It looks like all of you are in the doghouse," I teased.

Bella quietly called for me from my room. I grinned at Rosalie's internal screaming. "My princess is calling."

I climbed the stairs quickly as Carlisle attempted to diffuse an angry Rosalie. I opened the bedroom door, locking it behind me.

So I sought out privacy in Bella's presence, _sue me_.

I cocked my head, watching her tiny feet swing back and forth, crossed at her ankles as she lay on her bed. She was laying on her stomach, clutching a pillow.

"When I came upstairs, the voices in my head got quieter," she whispered.

"Proximity," I said.

"Looks like it. Once you came into my room, Jasper's view of Alice's chest popped into view," she said in disgust.

I chuckled. "Sorry about that, though now you can probably understand how I felt every time I came to visit."

She nodded, laying her head on her pillow. She patted the bed beside her, an invitation.

I lay beside her on my back. One of my hands cradled my head; the other started tracing patterns on her back.

"I've never had a bed before." I shifted on it, settling down, enjoying the pleasant softness.

"You still don't, you _ass_. It's _my_ bed. This is _my_ room and _my_ things."

I laughed. "Ah, little one, but you are –" I growled quickly, lifting her and laying her on my chest, straddling me "– _m__ine_."

She sat up, pressing her ass against my ever-present erection. I groaned, gripping her hips.

"Damn it, Edward!" Rosalie roared from downstairs.

"Rosie, baby. Come on, Eddie could use some. He needs to get the stick out of his ass."

"Not using Bella!" Rosalie retorted. Her maternal instincts were really starting to piss me off.

"Rosalie, go hunt," Carlisle said, almost pleading. He was on the last threads of his carefully constructed composure.

_Well, at least I know I can still shake things up._

"Why does he have to find his _mate _now?" Rosalie complained to Emmett as he led her across the backyard.

Bella stiffened above me and her eyes widened. Her faster-than-human heart rate, beat, well, _faster_.

I touched Bella's cheek, her skin flushing under my touch. "What is it, little one?"

"Mate?" she stated like a question.

"Mate," I repeated, letting it roll off my tongue.

"For eternity?" She blanched.

"For vampires, yes, it is." I shrugged indifferently, keeping the song in the background playing in my thoughts. I didn't need to appear weak. Not in her presence.

_I don__'__t need to fantasize. You are my pet, all the time. I don__'__t mind if you go blind. You get what you get when you__'__re through with mine._

"This is an interesting song, _my_ little one."

She scrambled off me and starting chewing on her nails. I watched as she started to pace the room. I could easily see on her face that her thoughts were going a mile a minute.

I'd never wanted to hear someone's thoughts so much.

Was I that bad?

I'd had women, vampire and humans who'd literally fallen all over me. We as vampires were _blessed_, I say _cursed_, with inhuman beauty.

Was she not attracted to me?

No, her pungent arousal was still in the air, though fainter. That alone would alert anyone of her attraction to me. Arousal and her enflamed cheeks whenever I caught her staring was enough evidence to support that she indeed found me attractive.

Bella stopped suddenly and roared at the floor. "Will you all stop thinking and shut the fuck up?!"

The moment _that_ word left her mouth, I grabbed her and threw her on the bed.

A unison of apologizes came from around the house before they left, except for Carlisle. They were all worried that Bella would not be able to sleep or function while I was here.

Rosalie, who was still within hearing distance of the house, quite plainly said there was only one solution. I had to leave.

Not that I would listen to her convoluted mind.

Not unless Bella left with me. She was mine.

I knew it. It was about time I reestablished this with Bella.

"Bella," I crooned, grazing my nose against her neck.

"Stop distracting me!"

"What makes you think I'm doing that?"

"Because you're worried," she huffed.

"No."

"Liar," she growled.

"Why would I be worried?"

"I don't want a mate," she said, looking up at me through her lashes.

I pulled back from her; I kept my face composed. The song was still repeating in my head.

Inside, deep down in the corners of my dark mind, that declaration fucking _hurt_.

"God, Edward. I've been on this earth for ten years. I've just started school. I'm not looking for forever. I'm looking to have fun. Meet new people. Not be attached to the hip the moment a new face comes around."

"I can understand that. I didn't say I wanted you as a mate, anyway. Don't flatter yourself." I detached myself from her arms and strode toward the door.

"Fuck. Now you're mad."

"Does it matter?"

"Just because I'm not looking for a commitment doesn't mean that I won't be willing to see –"

I didn't let her finish as I lunged at her and thrust my tongue in her mouth, groping everywhere.

After a few minutes, she pulled away to breathe. "You're moody," she quipped.

I nipped at her lips and then took a few playful licks of her neck. "I'm a one-hundred-nine-year-old virgin. Of course I'm moody."

Bella giggled. "I'm ten. That's all kinds of wrong, you know. Talk about robbing the cradle."

I growled, grinding against her core. She slapped at my chest but pulled me closer again.

"So…I'm still hungry."

"You just had elk and a mountain lion, Bella."

"I didn't say I was that kind of _hungry_," she clarified, batting her lashes. She exuded innocence, but her attitude in the forest and her seeping arousal said otherwise. She was a contradiction in more ways than one.

"Mmm…by all means, let me feed your hunger. I'm starving, too." I pressed my lips against hers. They were more pliable than vampire skin. They were much warmer, even warmer than a humans' touch.

"Edward and Bella," Carlisle called.

We both groaned.

Again.

"_Now_."

I grumbled, pulling Bella into my arms and setting her down on her feet. Bella looked down at her tattered clothing.

I groped a little roughly, apparently.

Bella ran to the closet and came out a few seconds later, fully changed in a blue cotton dress and black ballet flats.

I held out my hand and led her to Carlisle's office. We stopped before his office door. I glanced at her, telling her in my thoughts exactly what was going to happen inside his office.

Her eyes widened, and I thought she might have gotten sick a little.

We were about to have the _sex_ talk.

"Dad," she whined, opening the door hastily.

She plopped down in a chair in front of Carlisle's desk.

"Bella, don't be difficult," Carlisle insisted.

"I wouldn't dream of it," she scoffed.

"You both need to hear this," Carlisle said. "As my son and my daughter, I want you to both be informed."

"I know all about the dynamics of sex," Bella quipped.

"Yes, you do, darling. Emmett and Rosalie were umm…quite thorough on your school lessons that day."

Bella giggled. "Dad, just talking about it caused Emmett to throw Rose down in the middle of the living room."

"Jasper may have influenced that," Carlisle said. "Nevertheless, sex between you two is not the same as two vampires or two humans."

"You're worried about…"

My eyes widened as I read the thoughts from Carlisle's mind.

"She ovulates," I blurted out.

Bella blushed, hiding her face in her hands.

Carlisle's caramel eyes turned to mine. "Yes, she ovulates for two days a month. She has a menstrual cycle every twenty-one days for three days. During both times she –"

"Oh, don't tell him. That's embarrassing enough," Bella groaned, pleading.

"Bella, if you two insist on starting a relationship, then he has to know everything."

"Relationship…fine, I'll tell him." I waited with bated breath. "I go into heat," she said flatly.

My eyes widened. I looked at Carlisle and then at Bella. "During my ovulating and when I bleed, I produce a pheromone that pretty much attracts all males, vampire and human."

"Bella," Carlisle chastised.

I returned my attention to Bella, who was fidgeting with the hem of her dress.

"I also get really, um, needy. But I won't mate with just anyone, apparently. I haven't yet, at least."

My face broke out in a smile. Bella rolled her eyes.

"_There__'__s that word again…_mate._ Looks we__'__ll find out soon enough, won__'__t we, little one?"_ I gloated in my thoughts.

Bella crossed her arms in front of her and huffed. She ignored me and glared at our father.

"I'm worried about her blood being a problem for you, Edward."

"It won't be a problem, Carlisle. I drank once from her and stopped after two mouthfuls. The second time I just took a few drops. I stopped myself both times."

"Alice indicated –"

"Yes, we all know Alice can see the future, but she had to rely on only my decisions. The future she was seeing was not including Bella's decisions. In other words, Alice's visions are based on only one part of the story. Any action Bella has would drastically alter it."

Carlisle's brow furrowed. "Of course, but the problem remains that there is still a possibility that you'll drain her."

Bella rolled her eyes. "I'm fine. I didn't have to even tell him to stop or anything."

Carlisle nodded. "There is still the matter of Bella's cycle. It's obvious that male vampires can produce viable sperm. Bella ovulates, so that means we have to take precautions."

"Against pregnancy," I whispered.

I looked at Bella, who looked like she was going to be sick. I looked back at Carlisle as I saw images of Charles kneeling in the snow with the bloodied corpse of a woman.

"Carlisle," I hissed, "She can read your thoughts."

Carlisle's eyes widened as he tried to fill his mind with medical journals.

But the damage had already been done.

"Momma," Bella whispered and then slumped in her seat. I swept her into my arms, placing her in my lap.

Carlisle was by her in an instant, taking her wrist in his hands. "Sweetheart," he whispered, remorse marring his features. He sighed, and his eyes apologized along with his mind.

"It's not your fault, Carlisle. It's mine. I'll have to teach her how not to listen if I remain here."

"If?" he asked, still holding her hand.

"As in I guess that all depends on Bella if I stay."

"She's young still, Edward. Don't push her," Carlisle warned.

"I'll remember that," I spat.

"No penetrating sex until we figure out her birth control."

I glared. "There are condoms."

"We don't know the effect venom has on latex."

"I suggest you find out, until we know that pills will work."

Carlisle nodded. "Just a warning, her period starts in three days. We have a cabin deep in the back. Ninety acres surround the area to keep humans away."

Bella moaned in my lap. "Momma, Dad?"

Carlisle sighed, "Get her upstairs."

I swept out the room and laid Bella down in the middle of her bed.

She immediately turned to her side and sniffled.

"Little one," I whispered in her ear.

So quietly she murmured, "I thought my nightmares were just _nightmares_."

I sighed and pulled her against my chest. "Sleep, little one. I'll keep the nightmares away."

She fell into a fitful slumber a few minutes later. She whispered in her sleep.

Despite the quiet whispers I managed to allow myself to process the day. Never before had anyone captured my interest in this magnitude.

My mind was still reeling from the conversation with Carlisle. She could have children.

Would it be just like her mother? Her death to give life to another, to give birth? Could she give birth to _my _children? Children with her eyes and my hair? Was that possible?

That was a subject I was not ready to think about. Apparently she wasn't either. She wanted to live. Live as much as humanly possible. This was her first year out in the public eye. She wanted something more to life than what a vampire could give her.

No wonder the thought of finding a mate so quickly, when she was just introducing herself to the world, scared her. She was right though, she was still quite young. Was I really not willing to allow her some fun?

Of course not, as long as it didn't have to include the opposite sex.

Looks like _I__'__d _be joining the student body at good ol' Forks High.

Alice came in around eight. She quickly floated in the room with a tray of fruit, water and Bella's backpack.

Bella woke up a few minutes after Alice's appearance and sat quietly, eating.

I sat by her, going over her homework assignments while she ate. "All of your classes are advanced?"

"Yes. Dad wanted Alice and me to start as freshmen, but the curriculum they offered for freshmen was pathetic. I insisted on starting out as a junior. It means less time here, though." Bella shrugged indifferently, popping a grape in her mouth.

I nodded but didn't say anything. "Do you think I'm a monster?"

My head snapped up to look at her. Her face indicated a vulnerability that she hadn't shown since she'd confessed about her nightmares.

"No." I said plainly.

She averted her eyes and drank some water before scooting closer and starting her homework. She refused to speak further of what she'd seen.

She finished her math, her french and her English in ten minutes of each other. She was eager and brilliant. It was a wonderful combination.

I watched as Bella danced around the room, stuffing her homework and books in her bag, bumping her hip against her desk.

Then she bumped into the settee on the other side of her room when she reached for a book. Then she stubbed her toe against…her other foot.

I chuckled. I couldn't help myself. Here before me was a cross breed of vampire and a human, and… she was clumsy.

"Shut up!" She stuck her tongue out at me and then finished up at a faster speed.

No accidents.

"You know you only are clumsy when you're slow." I laughed at her scowl. "In other words, you would've made a _terrible_ human."

She growled, crouching low before toppling me onto her bed. "See, much more graceful when you're being you."

She rolled her eyes and kissed my lips softly. "Now, get out."

I pulled back to see her face. Was she fucking serious?

"Yes, I'm serious. I need to shower and sleep. I sleep, remember?"

"Fine, I'll take the chaise and a book."

"You're not staying in my room while I'm sleeping."

"I'll behave, promise," I offered.

"Edward," she said chastely.

"Bella," I crooned, kissing her neck along her collarbone.

"Edward," she gasped.

I chuckled.

"Asshole, you're distracting me again."

We both became quiet when we heard footsteps coming up the stairs leading to this floor.

"Oh Bella, it is past your bedtime," Emmett teased from the other side of the locked door.

The door knob rattled slightly.

"Bella, you know how I feel about you locking your door," Emmett said in a perfect imitation of our father.

Bella giggled. "Go away, Emmett."

"Young lady, don't use that tone with me," Emmett mocked.

I threw Bella's pillow sham at the door. We heard his feet shift, and he said his goodnight before he left.

"Don't tell me they all come here to tuck you into bed and read you some bedtime stories, little one?"

"Shut up."

"I'll go. Take your shower and go to sleep. I should warn you, though; you have quite a collection of books. I might find the need to borrow one later. I also need to take care of …" I looked down at my crotch, actually hoping she'd offer to help.

"You do that," she said coyly, grabbing something from her drawer. Then she went into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

I left Bella to her nightly ritual while I went to explore the house. It had been a while since I had been here. I'd managed to stay here for a few weeks some seventy years earlier, and we'd been greeted with the local legends. Shape shifters.

I just hoped that genetic quirk had died off with the newer generations. I'd hate to think what would happen to my little one if one of those beasts caught a whiff of her. I shuddered. They wouldn't get near her.

She was mine. Soon enough, she'd know it.

I made my way back to her room, when I heard her heart rate slow.

_Now, you'__re going to watch her sleep, Edward? That__'__s sick. _I heard Rosalie's thoughts just as I closed Bella's door behind me.

"Shut it, Rose," I hissed lowly, aware that she was standing on the other side of the door.

"Don't fucking hurt her. If she leaves us, I won't hesitate to rip your balls off, stuff them in your mouth, and then I'll to proceed to rip your head off."

"Interesting image you just evoked, dear sister."

"We can't lose her, Edward," she whispered.

All the memories of Bella's first few months came into my head. The images were of Bella in her young stages of life. She was a toddler in just a couple of months. I watched as Rosalie took her hunting for the first time. The face Bella made as she first tasted blood from a deer.

They all loved her. They'd do anything for her. They'd die for her. Carlisle had already set a plan in motion if she was ever sought out by the Volturi.

Others knew of her existence. Only those our family trusted. All of them would die for Bella. Alice had them preparing to defend her, if the moment should arise.

If I knew Alice, it meant that the time _would _come. The moment where we would all stand before her as her protectors.

I whispered loud enough for Rosalie to hear. "I won't let anything happen to her. I'd die for her, too."

****

Bella started to fidget in her seat as we drove toward school. She and I were arriving together. Carlisle had already stopped by the school, securing my spot in every class with Bella.

Gym should be interesting. Tiny shorts, mmm…

Jasper explained to me our story. Since the family never knew if I'd just show up, they'd always create a story that I was studying abroad.

Jasper and Rosalie Hale had been adopted three years ago.

Emmett and Bella Swan, they were Esme's niece and nephew who had lost their parents in a car accident years ago.

Alice and Edward Cullen, adopted two years ago. We'd lost our mother to cancer, father unknown.

Jasper and Emmett decided the Jeep while Rosalie and Alice arrived in the Porsche. We all parked beside each other in the student parking lot.

I didn't fail to see that our cars stood out parked here. I turned to Bella, who was watching me, her teeth biting into her lower lip. I turned off the car and waited for her to say something.

Since our talk with Carlisle, we hadn't discussed anything that had to do with us. I didn't know how I felt about that.

She had to understand that she was mine.

Soon, she'd come to realize that I was hers.

Until then I'd have to beat off the pathetic little human boys who were already getting on my nerves. She hadn't even left the car yet, and there was already a group of boys waiting to see her.

"Ready?" I asked.

"No. Not really."

"Is something wrong?"

"I can hear _all_ their thoughts."

Oh.

"Are they making you uncomfortable?" I would of course approach said boys later and _straighten_ them out.

"Um…it's just weird."

"You'll have to make sure to answer their words and not their thoughts."

Bella sighed. "Okay, let's go."

I nodded and got out of the car and went to Bella's side, opening her door.

Immediately upon exiting the car, a pair of girls started fantasizing about me. Their convoluted thoughts held no interest to me, but I wasn't about to waste an opportunity.

_Mmm…look at his hair__. Forget his hair, look at that ass, s_ome girl named Lauren thought.

_Oh my God,__ what I wouldn'__t give to lick every inch of him, _Lauren's friend Jessica thought.

Bella's eyebrows furrowed, and her head snapped up to look directly across the parking lot where the two girls stood.

Her face flushed. This was easy to read. She was angry.

Not just angry but _jealous_.

Jasper came to her side immediately, trying to calm her. But it wasn't working.

_Perfect._

I draped my arm across her shoulders and started leading us toward the office.

I leaned in and whispered in her ear. "Do you hear what they're thinking?"

"Yes," she hissed, her eyes still on the Dynamic Duo.

"Do you find yourself wanting to rip their heads off?"

Lauren started fantasizing about pushing Bella out of the way and grabbing my ass before kissing me.

Bella tensed beside me.

"Yes."

_Too easy._

"Why?" I asked, my lips against her ear.

She remained quiet, seeming to be at war with the thoughts in her mind.

Then Lauren helped seal the deal. She imagined me kissing her, telling her that I'd never loved Bella and that I belonged to her.

Bella faced me, grabbed the back of my head and thrust her tongue in my mouth. Her hands tugged on my hair, causing me to growl and moan. I grabbed her waist and tugged her body closer to mine.

She pulled away after a few minutes, alerting the whole school that we were seeing each other.

Lauren and Jessica stopped in their tracks with their jaws on the floor. Well, maybe not just them. I was sure that most of the student body was openly gaping at us. I could hear the proverbial cricket in the background and the internal groan of just about every male in the vicinity.

Bella smiled triumphantly before looking back at me. "You're mine," she said huskily.

I chuckled, my eyes excited; I smirked, placing another kiss on her soft lips.

Her smile turned to a scowl. "You ass, were you expecting that to happen? You wanted it to happen?"

My smile widened further. "Yes."


	3. Newt

******AN: Beta'd by lisa89. Carlisle and Edward's POV's written by me, and Bella's written by the talented Emerald_Rosalie. Enjoy.****

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The Taste of Sin

**Chapter Three – Newt**

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~Edward

I had the distinct pleasure of watching a very irate Bella stomp toward our first course after we left the office. She was several steps ahead of me, allowing me the perfect view of her lovely ass moving with each forceful step.

_Damn, look at her…mmm. What I wouldn't give to tap that ass as I pound__…_

I looked for the voice in question, the one that dared to think of Bella in such a disgusting manner.

_Not that I wasn't thinking along the same lines, but I__'__m allowed __–__ she__'__s mine._

The boy in question had Bella and me in his line of sight, but his attention was solely on Bella's ass. I turned, coming face to face with a twat of boy. Once I came into view in his mind, I could easily decipher mild irritation at my presence. I cleared my throat, barely managing to keep the growl under my breath. His pupils dilated and his heart began to race, the tanginess of fear enriching his blood further.

What I wouldn't give to swat the boy's head clean off. It would be painless. He'd only feel it for a second. I snarled slightly with every step he took toward Bella.

No doubt sensing the urge to murder this adolescent child, Jasper eased my anger. He whispered Bella's name, calling her to help dissipate the situation. I glared down at the pathetic human and was appalled that his fantasies were increasing as Bella walked over to us.

"Mike," she said coolly, her body heat warming the side of my body. The urge to throw her over my shoulder was nearing its breaking point. She knew his name, and this did nothing to quell my anger and an entirely new emotion – jealousy.

Bella took my fist in her tiny hand and pried my fingers open, intertwining them with hers. "Mike, this is Edward Cullen. Edward, this is Mike Newton."

"Oh really, another brother?" he asked hopefully. Jasper snickered, and I fucking hissed.

"I'm her _boyfriend,_" I said menacingly.

Bella rolled her eyes in my peripheral vision, and the motion only increased Jasper's laughter.

"Well that's news –" Bella started. I snapped my attention to her and glared.

_If you value this human__'__s life, you will NOT finish that sentence,_ I thought, knowing she was listening.

"Are you threatening me with his life," she hissed under her breath.

I nodded minutely, refusing to back down. I showed her several different ways that I'd dismember this lowly creature. She hissed again and then growled when I showed her that I'd fuck her afterward, too. Despite her anger toward me, a fresh flow of arousal scented the air around me.

"Yes, he's my boyfriend, and he just moved back with our happy family," Bella said sweetly.

"She's going to kill you," Jasper whispered for me to hear.

I shrugged indifferently as Mike pretended that he was happy to meet me. His thoughts said otherwise, and I ignored them until his eyes took in Bella's breasts.

_Mmm, I__'__d bet they bounce as she rides__ –_

Then a few things happened at once. Alice screamed in my head to stop Bella. Jasper sensed Bella's anger, and then she slapped the fuck out Newt…something or other.

"You disgusting pig! How dare you!" Bella hissed angrily, already ready to strike him again. Though I would love to see this continue, I knew it couldn't. I grabbed Bella around her waist and started walking to our class before she exposed us further.

I could hear Jasper talking with Newt. "Not cool, man. You don't look at a woman's breasts while she's talking."

I could hear Newt's thoughts, and Bella's anger didn't scare him. It only served to increase his desire for her. His fantasies were taking an even more dangerous turn.

I quickly walked alongside Bella, slightly amused that she had slapped Newt. I was positive that she had left a bruise.

She sighed beside me and then pushed me away. "This mind reading business is seriously fucking with my normal flow of things," she quipped angrily. "Before you came along, I was oblivious to the male mind. I had no idea that the average human boy thinks about sex every two-point-six seconds. That's fucking ridiculous. That would mean they would walk around with a hard on all fucking day."

I laughed at her and shook my head. "That is the reason why they adjust their pants so often."

She looked up at me, cocking her head to the side. Her eyes widened as I adjusted my jeans slightly, causing her to blush. I roared in laughter at her obvious shyness on the subject matter.

"Well, male vampires are no different. In fact, you have thought of nothing but sex since I met you," she said in mock horror.

I leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Well, considering how fuckable you look twenty-four-seven can you really blame me?" With the tip of my nose I nudged her black dangling tear drop earrings and then sucked her earlobe into my mouth.

She shivered slightly. "Do you have any idea how sexy you look right now?" I looked down at her attire. Alice had dressed her in skinny jeans, high heels that looked like sneakers and a red trench style coat. The coat looked like a present with the round buttons waiting to be undone by my fingers. "I have no idea what you're wearing under this," I said as one of my hands crept under the lapel of her coat.

"I…uh…it's white," she whispered throatily.

I chuckled internally, so fucking happy that I was affecting her as she did me. I looked at my watch and noticed we still had twenty minutes before class. I led her behind one of the buildings covered by an outcrop of bushes and trees. She seemed to be unaware of where I was taking her. Her heart raced as my hand sought out skin under her coat.

"Mmm…white. Does your top happen to match your panties?" I growled, pushing her up against the stucco wall of the building.

"No," she gasped, her lips seeking my neck. I angled my head away so as to give her better access. The little temptress licked and nipped at my Adam's apple, setting my groin on fire. My hand flattened on the taut skin of her stomach and reached higher. "No bra, and my panties are red and ruffled," she teased.

I groaned and sought out her breasts, and I pressed my aching cock against her abdomen. "Can I open my present now?" I asked as her hot little tongue darted out and sucked on my collarbone.

"Yes," she gasped. I felt gauzy fabric under my fingertips as my free hand popped the buttons of her jacket open. I pulled away slightly to admire her. Her blouse was white and loose fitting, all held up by a black metal lattice trim piece around her neck. I groaned and moved my hands under her top and felt her nipples pucker under the palms of my hands.

"Fucking perfect," I said, panting. I ground against her, seeking friction, causing her to moan softly.

"I owe you one," she said sweetly. I looked into her eyes and was shocked to see the lust smoldering in her them. "May I touch you?" she asked, biting into her bottom lip.

Unable to take it any longer, I thrust my tongue in her mouth. With the nimble fingers of one hand, I gently pulled and rolled her nipple. My other hand took one of hers and led it to my crotch, and I showed her how to move her hand over me. Her warm hand was doing wonderful things to help alleviate the tension.

Bella rubbed the palm of her hand vigorously against me, pulling out a guttural moan from me. My hand left hers to run up her thigh, and I squeezed her ass once before sliding my hand forward. I parted her thighs with one of my knees and pressed against her moist center over and over again. My hand slid from her thigh and rubbed her clit softly.

Bella moaned deeply, causing her to increase the pressure she was exerting on my cock. I groaned inside her mouth and bit her bottom lip. She moaned again as I sucked the precious drops of her blood in my mouth and kissed her thoroughly. With the combination of her blood on my tongue, the wonderful things she was doing with her hands and her soft moans, I exploded.

Never wavering from pleasuring her, she followed soon after me with a loud moan of my name. If I didn't know any better, I'd say my name came from her mind. I shook the thought away and grabbed her sublime ass in my hands, pulling her even closer. I smirked as I leaned my forehead on hers.

"You liked touching me, didn't you?" I asked teasingly. "You're a naughty little thing."

Bella rolled her eyes, and color inflamed her cheeks. "Maybe, but you were hardly fair. I owed you one."

I grinned and nipped at her lips. "Well, my sweet, it only means that you'll have to make it up to me."

"Ah, I see that was your plan all along," she growled playfully.

"Yes," I said firmly and then chuckled. Then I became aware of something.

I couldn't hear anything around me. I looked around, and the world was completely silent. Bella, noticing my discomfort, sensed the same thing.

Then it was gone. Everything, sound, smells and the minds of those around us, rushed in suddenly.

"What the hell was that?" Bella asked, looking up at me with worried eyes.

"I'm not sure, but I think there is more to your powers," I said thoughtfully, picking up her backpack and my journal. I started to lead us toward our classrooms.

"Fuck, that's so cool!" Bella said excitedly. "I can't wait to rub it in Emmett's face." She took my hand and tugged so that I'd move along faster.

"Wait," I said as I paused in front of the men's restrooms. I looked at the door, and Bella cocked her head curiously. She blushed when she realized that I needed to get cleaned up.

"I'll meet you in class in a moment," I said, kissing the top of her head. "Save me a seat."

"Sure, sure," she mumbled, pushing me toward the door.

I quickly cleaned up and realized that my boxer briefs were going to be uncomfortable. I decided to tease Bella further and stuffed them into her backpack.

I walked into class and noticed Mike hovering over Bella's desk, apologizing.

Bella looked unhappy, and from what I could tell, not only at Mike. Jasper snickered beside her, looking up at me.

_You'd better get over here. She__'__s about ready to grab him by the balls and throw him across the room,_ Jasper thought, laughing internally.

I shook my head and took the seat beside her. Mike glared at me momentarily before walking to his own seat. Bella smiled at me and took her backpack from my shoulder.

I settled in my seat and pulled her stool a little closer. She rolled her eyes at me and growled under her breath. I chuckled as she stiffened in her seat. She snapped her eyes to look at me. "Will you behave?"

I shook my head no. _So are you my girlfriend now?_ I thought, causing her to snarl at me.

"That was completely uncalled for, asshole," she whispered lowly as class started.

"Keep cursing like the naughty little thing you are, and I'll really show you what's uncalled for." I pictured in my mind as I pulled her up on the desk and showed her just what my tongue could do.

She gasped, and her breath became erratic. Then Jasper hissed at us both.

_Will you stop with all the lust, man? _Jasper thought, shifting in his chair uncomfortably. _Not cool. _

Bella and I both nodded and tried to listen to the boring lecture on what was expected from us this year. She took notes while I watched her and adjusted so that some part of my body was as close to her as possible. It did not go unnoticed that she did the same.

As the class progressed, I noticed Bella's scent become sweeter, sinfully so. My desire to sink my teeth into her was only quelled by Jasper's hold on my emotions. I found that my lust for her had only increased, as her scent drove me to the brink of insanity.

The tick-tock of the classroom clock along with inane chatter of these mindless adolescents was keeping me from throwing Bella over my shoulder. The mind of the pathetic puppy, Newt, had taken a much more pornographic path in regards to Bella, which only enraged me further.

Lust, bloodlust, and jealously – these emotions were a mix for trouble. Trouble I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into, hell, I'd settle for backhanding the pathetic little spawn. I grinned wickedly, imagining doing that while my eyes burned into the side of his head, causing Bella to laugh beside me. I turned, giving her a wink and a quick grope of her breast, knowing that the Newt was watching.

All in all, I guessed it wasn't such a bad first day of school.

**~Bella**

Ugh, my boyfriend.

He wanted to be my _boyfriend_. It was a little strange. All this talk of life mates and stuff really freaked me out. I knew that when you met the one, you knew…but I was young, and I didn't really want to admit that yes, Edward was more than likely to be my mate.

Hearing his thoughts was bizarre. Hearing him thinking such…sexual things about me was, well, a little exciting and a little scary. He had just walked into my life and thought I'd just roll over and let him control me. I was my own person. I'd always had to be. My family loved me, I knew that. But to be the only oddity in a family full of perfection…it was daunting.

How could I possibly be Edward's mate? I knew from the stories she had told me, that Rosalie had originally been changed for Edward. How could I compare to Rosalie; she was a fucking Amazon…and I was the orphan Halfling.

Edward's hold on my heart was worrying me. On the one hand, I did feel something for him, but his aggressiveness toward me scared me. Was I just a plaything for him? Something to spend time fucking while he did other things? He hadn't showed one ounce of feeling toward me apart from jealousy and possessiveness. I knew that wasn't what my family wanted for me…and to be honest, I didn't want it either.

I played the hard ass, and sometimes it suited me to. But I craved affection. Sure, playing with Edward was fun, and seeing him getting all riled up was something I'd come to like, but I wanted more than just a quick fumble. Was that all he thought I was good for?

Edward had gone to his last class of the day with Alice, and I was left with Jasper in history. As the bell rang out, Jasper picked up my bag and put his arm around my shoulders. I sunk into his embrace. He really was my lifeline at times like this. Newton glared at us as we walked past, and I hissed under my breath. He didn't deserve what Edward wanted to do to him, but I sure as hell wanted to pull his tiny little dick off.

"Your emotions are everywhere, B. What's up?" Jasper asked.

I shrugged my shoulders and buttoned the front of my coat up. I could feel the turn in the air. It was fast becoming autumn.

Alice and Edward were waiting beside the car for us, and Edward raised his eyebrow at Jasper's arm. Jasper rolled his eyes, removed his arm and got in the car. I glared at Edward as I wedged myself in the backseat next to Jasper.

All of sudden, I felt more angry as the miles sped by. Jasper kept sneaking glances at me and looking at Edward. I could hear his thoughts; he was worried about me. I patted his knee as Edward pulled into the driveway of our home. I bolted as soon as I could and ran up to my room. If Edward had any sense, he'd leave me alone.

I needed some sort of distraction. I pressed play on my iHome and breathed a sigh of relief when the soothing sounds of "Claire de lune" filled my room.

I was on edge and I hated it. It always made me feel like a sack of crap. I flopped down on my bed and buried my head in my pillow. I heard movement downstairs. Edward was pacing and begging Jasper to tell him what he'd done wrong. Esme was on the phone, presumably to Carlisle and Rosalie and Emmett weren't back yet.

There was a soft knock on my door, and I looked up as Alice came in. She was clutching a huge bar of candy and grinning. I smiled at her and sat up. She perched herself on the end of my bed and handed me the candy. _Oh, the joys of being half human!_

"So, do you wanna tell me what's up?" Alice asked as she crossed her legs.

I bit into the candy bar. "I don't know. One minute I was fine, and the next I wasn't."

"Mood swings?" she asked.

I nodded. "I think so. The Newt didn't help, and the way Edward keeps hanging over me like I'm his toy, Al. It's starting to really annoy me."

Alice sighed. "Edward's so intense because before you Bella, he'd never found anyone who could make him feel the way you do," she whispered lowly. "You don't know how long he'd wandered the world looking for you. He just wants to be loved."

"I'm just starting out, Alice. How can he expect me to be so serious after knowing him for barely two days? Yes, the connection was instant and I know he likes me, but come on. Does he honestly expect me to settle down and be his little lady?"

Alice snorted and whispered, "I don't think you'd ever be anyone's little lady, Bella."

"I feel like everything's been so up and down these past few days. I feel stressed."

Alice's eyes widened and I heard heels knocking on the wooden floor as the door swung open. Rosalie stood in the doorway, her face filled with worry. "Did he hurt you? Or just piss us _both_ off?"

I laughed and moved over on my bed. I'd missed this. I loved my sisters. Alice looked at me and whispered, "Bella…I think your period is coming early,"

Oh, crap.

I cringed and immediately understood why Esme had called Carlisle. Of course that was why I was feeling so moody. It couldn't have come at a worse time.

"Don't worry," Alice said softly. "Tomorrow is sunny, so none of us are going to school. Esme will take you to the cabin, and Rose and I will follow with Carlisle and Edward."

"Whoa," Rosalie interrupted. "Edward? Why the hell should Edward go?"

Alice grimaced. "He is Bella's mate, and he can help her through this."

I sighed and shook my head. "How can Edward help, when the scent of my blood will drive him crazy?"

Alice smiled impishly at me. "I've seen it."

***

I was climbing the walls by the time Esme put me into Carlisle's Mercedes. He kissed me on the head and stroked my cheek before slamming the door of the car. I looked back, and the man who I'd come to see as my father looked distraught as the car pulled out of the driveway.

I felt like every nerve ending in my body was twitching, and I couldn't sit still. Esme watched me wearily from the rearview mirror as I fidgeted. I don't know what made me do it, but I asked anyway.

"Do you think I could have children, Mom?" I asked.

Esme smiled. "I see no reason why not, sweetheart."

"But…how?" I questioned.

"Dad thinks the human part of you, the part that keeps you breathing and your heart beating, has kept your reproductive system alive, too. You ovulate Bella, albeit every three weeks, but you still do. So, he thinks that in the future, if you decide to, yes, you could have children."

I felt a little choked up. Rosalie, who'd give anything to have children, deserved this more than me. Even Esme, the woman who raised me as her own, should have this before me.

"Do you want children, darling?" Esme asked.

"I don't know, Mom," I answered. "Maybe someday, years from now."

"You've got to give me some grandchildren someday. I think your father would love to be called Grandpa Carlisle." Esme laughed.

I smiled at that thought.

I tried to sleep the rest of the journey away and nearly succeeded. Edward called me just as I was dropping off and scared the shit out of me.

"I miss you, Bella," he said in a whisper.

I sighed into the phone. "You miss being able to touch me, Eddie," I quipped.

"I heard everything you told Alice, Bella. And I do not just want you for your body. You're ridiculous. You have no idea how long I've waited for you," Edward said softly.

I felt my eyes fill with tears, and I felt like an asshole. "I'm sorry for being such a bitch, Edward. I'm just – I'm scared."

"Don't be scared, love. I'm sorry for the way I've been. Treating you like a possession. It's never been like that for me. I adore you, Bella."

I felt like I wanted to bawl right at that very moment. I looked up and saw Denali in the distance and sighed. "Please get here soon, Edward. I need you."

****

I was buried safely under the covers of my bed in Denali when the door clicked open. I felt the bed dip, and strong arms encased me.

"Edward," I breathed, clutching at his shirt.

"I'm here, I've got you," he murmured into my hair.

"Where have you been?" I asked, searching his crimson eyes for an answer.

"It took me a long time to get here, but I am, finally," Edward professed. "I'm here with you."

"Tell me about where you come from, Edward." I almost begged. "Distract me." My whole body felt like it was on fire and super sensitive to every touch.

"I was born in 1901, in Chicago, and changed by Carlisle in 1918," he started, settling in for what I was sure would be a long night. "He saved me because my mother, Elizabeth Masen, asked him to. She knew he was special from the minute she saw him. When I woke up and saw Carlisle, I thought I'd died and that he was an angel. I never thought for one minute that I had survived the Spanish Influenza. Carlisle taught me how to hunt, how to adjust to the lifestyle he favored, and for a few years I did stick to it. But then he met Esme. I don't know how much of Esme's story you know, but he saved her, too. No woman should ever have to go through what she did. He brought her back to the house and I could see it in his mind, he loved her already. When she awoke from the change and learned to trust him, they were married. I was so happy for him and for Esme. She deserved a good man, and Carlisle was just what she needed. But the closer they became, the more I felt the need to separate from them. I loved them, and they are in every way my parents, but I couldn't live with them knowing they had the one thing I craved – love."

I shifted closer to Edward; I could hear the need for comfort in his voice.

"I left them when they found Rosalie. I couldn't stay and listen to what the foulest, most disgusting creatures had done to this poor girl. I knew that with my talent, or curse, as I call it, I could try to rid the streets of these fiends. Carlisle kept my bank account filled, of course. I knew he blamed himself for my leaving, even though I drifted home every few years, and Alice and Jasper often visited. The years passed, and I killed every single thief, rapist, and murderer I could find. It was like a drug. The thrill of taking that person's life, it was addicting. I thought I was doing something good, when really I was just damaging myself. I see that now. Then ten years ago, Carlisle called me and told me of Charles' death, and how he'd wed his human bride. He told me about you, and I will admit to you, I was jealous. How could a newborn take my place? How dare they? How could they forget about me? I know now they hadn't. But imagine the way I was feeling. I wanted to go home so many times, and then …they didn't need me there anymore. I was distraught. So I threw myself back into hunting." His eyes were burning with an intensity that I had yet to encounter. It was sadness, guilt, anxiety and love all rolled up into one.

My eyes were brimming with tears. He was so alone. It was my fault that he was feeling like this. It was me being there that had prevented him coming home to his family.

"Oh, no. Love, please don't cry," Edward pleaded. "I don't blame you."

"But it is my fault, Edward," I whispered. "It's my fault you never came home."

"No, I'll never blame you, Bella. I knew enough was enough. I had to come home. I missed Carlisle and Esme, Alice, Jasper and Emmett, even _Rosalie_. The way Carlisle talked about you, Bella; there was so much love in his voice. Esme's, too. I knew your father, and I know he would be so proud of you. You're everything he wanted you to be and more. You are where I belong. You are my life now."

That was it. I burst into full-on tears. I couldn't help it. It was like he'd read my mind. I clawed at his shirt as he wrapped his arms around me.

"Jesus, Bella. What are you wearing?" he asked as his hands roamed over my back.

"Shorts and a tank top," I said thickly. "Stop ruining the moment."

He chuckled and lifted my chin. He kissed my eyes and then my cheeks and finally, after what seemed like an eternity, my lips. He caressed my face and used the pad of his thumb to wipe the tears from my eyes. I breathed in his woodsy scent and found that it calmed me, when all I usually felt during my period was anxiety, like I was craving something.

Maybe I'd been craving Edward all along.

"Bella, you need to stop sniffing and grinding into me. Are you _trying_ to kill me?" he asked throatily.

I laughed and shook my head. "I can't help it. You're so pretty."

"I am not pretty," he huffed in mock offence. "I am burly and manly, and you know you want all my big, bad vampire venom all over you."

I giggled and lifted my leg over his hip, and I knew the scent of my blood hit him hard. He groaned and buried his face in my neck, tracing the side of my throat with his tongue. I wrapped my leg around him tighter and thrust my hands into his hair, bringing his head closer. I moaned as I felt his teeth break the skin, and he took long pulls from my neck.

My heart began to pound as he flipped me over, his teeth still attached. My body felt like it was on fire as Edward's hands roamed my body. My hips automatically flexed against his arousal, and I felt something tightening in the pit of my stomach. He pulled his lips from my neck and groaned as I came against him. I could feel him pulsing against my center, and he moaned my name and collapsed on top of me.

I was panting, trying to catch my breath, when I noticed Edward still hadn't moved.

"Edward?" I asked, panicked.

Nothing.

"Edward!?" I screamed, pushing him off me.

He flopped back onto the bed, his eyes closed. Carlisle burst through the door and stood staring at Edward.

"He won't wake up!" I cried, terror taking over me.

Carlisle strode over and opened his eyelids and sighed in relief. "I think he blacked out, Bella. His pupils are responsive."

Edward took a deep breath, and his eyes opened. Jesus, I'd never been so relieved to see those big red eyes until now. He looked around and sat up, clutching his head.

"What just happened?" he asked. "I feel like – I think I have a _headache_!"

"I think you blacked out, son. Did you feel a surge of power of some sort?" he asked, raising his eyebrows at me. I couldn't help but blush.

"I think so…it was intense," he said, looking over at me. "I drank from her."

"I don't want you taking any chances while she's menstruating or ovulating, Edward. She needs to be safe. I am trusting you with her," Carlisle said. "No biting while she's bleeding."

"I know…I'll take care of her," Edward promised, and Carlisle left us alone.

"What the hell was that, Edward?" I asked.

"I don't know, but the bubble was back, and I couldn't hear anything. It was like the world was blocked out and only we existed."

"Maybe it only comes when I have a burst of power or when you're near me. Maybe it's my shield. Rosalie said I used to use it when I was younger, when Dad told me off or when I got into trouble."

Then it dawned on me, the reason why the shield was extending itself to Edward, why it was protecting us both.

Edward was my _mate –_ my soul mate. Mine for eternity.


	4. Auntie

**AN: Beta'd by Stratan who I frustrate on a weekly basis. Sorry but thank you. **

**Co-author Emerald_Rosalie and I had a talk, with both of us working on so many projects; I'm taking over this one. I'm hoping that I'll be able to convince her to do a chapter or two when Bella's POV is more prevalent. I'm not sure I can do Bella's POV not like E_R, at least.**

**Enjoy. **

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The Taste of Sin

**Chapter Four – Auntie**

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~Edward

I'd been a complete fucking ass. Watching Bella drive away with Esme was painful. She had come back from school so upset with my possessive treatment of her in front of everyone.

I didn't really understand what I had done wrong at the time. She was mine and everyone needed to know that. When we had first met, I knew she'd be mine and hadn't fought it.

This need, this desire to mark her as mine was based on instinct. Since I had met her, I'd been hit with a wide array of emotions that I had never felt before. Lust, both for her blood and body had been the over powering feeling over all others.

The lust had lead to possession and jealously all the while I had ignored an emotion that had warmed me since I laid eyes on Bella.

Love.

Was that possible? Could I have loved her after just one look? I was never one to believe in love in first sight, but I've seen it happen in my family. Could it really be as simple as that?

Yes, with Bella it could be.

We both had seen it first hand. Jesus, no wonder she'd been confused and frightened of me. She'd seen our family love each other unconditionally since she came into this family, and then to be bombarded by my barbaric behavior… her frustration made a lot more sense now.

Her talk to Alice about me was heartbreaking, especially when she referred herself as my toy. She was nothing of the sort, but upon analyzing our time together, I could see why she had thought that.

She wanted what the other couples in our family had. I was completely unprepared to deal with this new emotion upon meeting her but now…

I would do things differently. I had no doubt that I would've been unable to fight the insatiable hunger I had for her, but I'd make sure she understood what she meant to me.

She wasn't a piece of property. She'd become a part of me.

I needed her.

I paced profusely, waiting for Carlisle to finish his damn shift at the hospital so we'd be able to leave. Carlisle was the only male vampire that was able to control his actions around Bella's pheromone enriched blood.

God, the scent of her blood was intoxicating, but having it mingling with the pheromones was enough to drive me insane. It was taking every bit of my control not to run after Bella.

Now.

Jasper's influence was hardly helping matters, since he could feel my desperation to have Bella with me.

"Calm the fuck down, Edward," Jasper hissed.

"I can't," I growled. "I just need to go to her. What the fuck am I waiting for?" I ran my hands through my hair furiously.

"You have no idea if you can handle being near her while she menstruates," he said calmly, trying to ease the tension in my body with his gift.

"I could smell that she was close, and it wasn't bothering me," I said as I pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Liar," Jasper said smugly.

I really fucking hated his power. I glared at him and lunged at him, toppling us over the couch. Jasper laughed and quickly turned us so that we landed on the coffee table. It gave way with our collective weight.

"Edward!" Alice said. "Jasper, stop encouraging him."

Then I noticed what Jasper was doing. He hadn't been able to calm me since Bella had left, so he was trying to distract me. Clever asshole. I slapped the side of his head, earning a peel of laughter from Alice as she appeared at the foot of the stairs. I jumped off Jasper and proceeded to dust myself from the debris of the table.

Alice cocked an eyebrow, grinning. "I already ordered the replacement."

I sighed and patted her on the head, to which she pursed in her lips and growled. "Thank you." Jasper laughed at our display, pulling Alice to him by the waist and nuzzled her neck.

We all stilled when we heard the crunch of gravel by the highway. "He's here," Alice sang. I blew out an unnecessary breath and silently thanked whoever decided to bring Bella into my life.

The first few hours of our drive were quiet; the silence only added to my tension. I couldn't take it any longer. I had to hear her voice. I dialed the number that Alice had pre-programmed in my phone before we left for Alaska.

Hearing her sweet voice was like a lifeline. Something tangible; something I could hold onto with everything that I was. The down side was that just listening to her made me instantly hard. Fucking hell, I knew then that it would be harder than I originally thought to quell the lust.

Unfortunately, my predicament was noticed by Carlisle. I smiled sheepishly, and I shrugged - I couldn't help it. Damn, this little girl would be my undoing.

For the remainder of the drive I closed my eyes and allowed myself to dream of what my future may now hold.

Countless hours, days, even weeks in the arms of my brown-eyed beauty as we made love; traveling with her by my side; taking her to see my childhood home or anywhere her heart desired.

Then of course, my mind chose to dwell on the way we'd spend our hunting trips, not only gorging ourselves on blood of our prey but on each other.

"I'm worried, Edward," Carlisle said, breaking both the silence and my fantasies. I bit back a growl for the disturbance, but from what I read in my father's mind, he knew exactly what he'd done.

"I won't hurt her," I said lowly. "I couldn't."

"You don't know that, son," he replied.

_You have no idea how strong the urge to take will be._

I shrugged and chose not to respond.

"Even I have trouble," he whispered.

I turned to look at him and both his expression and thoughts confirmed his statement. "It's not bloodlust. You have no idea how much it bothers me to want her like that."

"I think you're the one that needs to stay away from her," I growled. "Not me."

"I can't leave you with her."

"She's mine," I spat. "She's my mate."

"I know that you think –"

"I don't think. I know."

"It may just be the bloodlust clouding your judgment along with her pheromone enriched blood."

"It could be," I said. "That would explain my behavior when I'm around her, but that won't explain the pain I feel when she's not."

"What are you saying?"

"I think I love her."

I knew we were close when both Carlisle and I inhaled deeply. Good God, I'd never be able to resist. Without waiting for the car to stop, I jumped out of the door, and rolled onto snow-covered ground. I was on my feet in seconds and ran toward her scent. It was so intoxicating.

Carlisle mentally told me that he'd be downstairs with Esme as I crouched and took to the trees. Within minutes, I landed on the second story window of the log cabin we normally stayed at when we visited. I could make out Esme downstairs. Upon hearing my entrance, she left to meet Carlisle.

With another pull of air, I found that Bella had chosen to use my old room. Within moments, I was wrapped around her and that all-consuming scent, but I controlled myself.

I controlled myself long enough to apologize, and tell her a little about my past. Her tears caused an unknown ache to gnaw in my chest. I hadn't meant to hurt her in any way, and I was foolish to tell her of my jealously.

Soon her tears turned into fits of laughter when she questioned my masculinity. Those sweet sounds had lessened the ache in my chest, while her scent drove me to the brink of insanity. I had been aching since I first caught her scent in the Alaskan air. With her so close, it was much more pungent.

Her body temperature had risen another three degrees, and her increased warmth only added to her appeal and aroused me even further. God, I wanted her. Her skin was hot and slick under my fingers. Within minutes, propriety was lost and we both sought more than comfort.

We sought more flesh; our kisses frantic with need and lust. Her moans and whimpers fueled my desire for more, and I needed more. Her urgent hands led my mouth to her throat were I took from her. I took her enriched blood in my mouth, but it only quenched one thirst.

The other fought to take her when she was vulnerable. I had no doubt that if I tore off every scrap of clothes from her pliant body that she'd allow me to have her. I couldn't do that to her. It would break what little trust she had in me.

I couldn't hurt her again.

That didn't stop us from seeking completion by other means. With her blood on my tongue, my hands helped her move across my erection for both our pleasure.

Her skin felt like it was on fire under my fingers. I was so close, and from the flush of her skin and her labored breathing, I could tell that she was too.

I knew my climax would be powerful the moment my body seized, and for a glorious moment, all I heard was her thoughts.

_Mine._

Then everything turned black.

I felt like I was in a tunnel, my vision impaired at the corners of my eyes. Slowly the darkness ebbed, and I could hear Bella's anguished cries. Searing pain suddenly engulfed my head.

After a few seconds, I was able to discern from Carlisle what had happened. After I'd promised I wouldn't hurt Bella, we were alone again.

After explaining to her what I felt before I blacked out, Bella remained quiet for a few moments, worrying me.

I took her face in my hands. "Bella," I whispered. I ran my thumbs over the apples of her cheeks as her thoughts had once again become lost to me."

"My mate," she whispered. "For eternity."

I smirked and now understood the look she wore. "About time you figured it out."

She slapped my arm and scowled. "Whatever."

I grinned and pulled her across my lap. "How does it feel to realize that I'm yours, baby?"

She laughed, but pursed her lips, trying to contain her laughter. "Mine," she said.

I nodded and kissed the top of her head. "Like I said before, you are my life now."

"Oh, don't get all fucking mushy with me. It's fine every once and a while, but I also like the big bad vampire part of you."

I grinned, grabbed her ass, and ground her against my erection. "See, that's more like it," she said.

"We have a lot to discuss," I said, kissing her temple.

"Yeah." She sighed and rested her head on my chest. "I'm tired though."

"Glad I can wear you out," I said smugly. She smacked my chest, but then laid a kiss there.

"I should rest," she said with a yawn. I slipped her over the sheets and shifted her to her side beside me.

"Is this alright?" I asked.

"Yes," she said softly. After a few moments, her breathing steadied as her eyes fluttered closed.

"Goodnight, love," I whispered in her ear. "Dream of me as I would of you."

"My Edward," she whispered in her sleep.

"Yours," I said simply.

Hours passed and twice both Esme and Carlisle checked on Bella. They both had been concerned because she had never been able to sleep while ovulating or menstruating. Most of time she spent pacing, and practically climbing the walls.

Carlisle thought that maybe my presence had something to do with Bella's subdued symptoms. He said that the urge and bloodlust wasn't as strong as previous occasions. That didn't mean it would be safe to introduce other males to Bella while in this state.

Carlisle and Esme left to hunt while I waited for Bella to awaken. Twenty minutes after their departure, Bella began to stir, her heartbeat increasing as her eyes fluttered open. My lips lingered on her temple, hoping to convey a moment of tenderness.

That shit flew out the window the moment she ground her pert bottom against my erection. I groaned and quickly flipped our bodies, pressing her back into the mattress.

She smirked and licked her bottom lip lavishly, teasing me as she coaxed my hips between her thighs.

"Good morning," she said huskily.

"It is now," I mused, hovering over her. I murmured in her ear about how good she smelled, how beautiful she looked beneath me, and what I wanted to do with my tongue.

Her hands gripped my biceps hard, forcing her nails to bite into my unforgiving skin. "Oh God," she moaned as her back arched.

"I want you," she gasped.

"I know," I hissed as I licked the white column of her neck. "We can't."

"Why?" she whined.

"Fuck, Bella," I grunted as my cock pressed harshly against her center. "I want to."

"Our family better be testing condoms while we're gone," she whispered against my neck.

"They are," I said with a laugh. I pressed my body closer to hers, loving the way the warmth of her body felt. "I've been getting texts for the past few hours."

Bella giggled as her fingers ran over my bare back. "When did you decide to undress?" Her hands continued to explore and graze over my boxer-clad backside. "Not that I mind."

"During your slumber you kept telling me take off my clothes," I said with a smirk and just for effect pinched her nipple through her tank top.

"I did not," she said mortified. A furious blush crept in her cheeks, and her teeth worried her lip.

"You did, but I'm guessing it was because you became feverish."

"Oh, that makes sense. You're like my instant ice bath."

"Do we really feel that cold to you?"

She shook her head. "It's soothing actually. Do I feel that hot to you?" I smirked and waggled my eyebrows. "I really walked into that one."

"Yes, you did," I said, and kissed her lips lightly as she squirmed beneath me. "Do you need a human moment?"

She blushed, but nodded. "Please."

I pressed one more kiss on her lips and watched as she crossed the floor to the adjoining bathroom. "This is something I really had to get used to."

"Having everyone listen to what you are doing in the bathroom," I said.

"I don't have those _kinds_ of human moments, just brushing my teeth and when I'm on my period."

It made sense that whatever food or blood she'd consumed would be used up in the same way that vampires would.

"So are we going to discuss that epiphany that you came to last night, or are you going to avoid it?" I asked as I heard her brush her hair.

I heard her brush clatter on the floor a second before she was standing right beside me. "You heard that? In my head."

"Yes," I said coolly. I hated the look of fucking horror on her face. Was she still going to fight what she was feeling for me?

"That's all you heard, right?" she said a little more calmly.

My eyes narrowed, and I nodded.

"Oh, thank God."

"What the hell does that mean?" I growled.

She looked at me confused, seemingly lost in thought. "Oh. No. I'm not denying that. I'd just be embarrassed if you were able to see my dreams."

"Denying what?" I smirked as a blush colored her cheeks again. We'd soon discuss these dreams of hers. Once she wasn't so shy about the obvious subject matter.

She rolled her eyes and quickly straddled me. "Mine," she said and leaned down to give me a searing kiss.

"Mine," I said as I groped her ass. I groaned when I smelled the fresh scent of blood.

"Edward," she moaned, my tongue continued to lavish her mouth. "Please."

"Tell me what you need." I'd deny her nothing. I'd fucking empty my bank accounts and buy her everything her heart desired.

"Relief," she murmured. I groaned again, unable to quell the lust running through me. "I need you." Her soft moans and whimpers urged me to continue.

We couldn't have sex yet, but it didn't mean we could both have a little fun. I flipped her onto her back, plunging my tongue in her mouth. Sweetness and warmth surrounded my tongue. From the corner of my eye, I could see a trash can nearby and hoped that she wouldn't be grossed out.

"I want to taste you," I whispered, laying kisses along her jaw.

"Yes," she gasped.

"Here," I said as I touched her gently over her sex. Even through layers of panties and shorts, I could feel that she was warmer here than anywhere else on her body.

"I…"

"You don't have to say yes," I said, easing my touch. If she wanted me to stop, I would. If she didn't want this, I wouldn't force her. I really hoped that she didn't think I'd lose control. I couldn't possibly hurt her now. Causing her pain would kill me.

"I want you to."

Thank fuck.

"Just tell me to stop if –"

She nodded again, taking my face in her hands. "You won't hurt me."

I kissed her gently this time. The kiss was soft and sweet, and a whimper escaped her. With a tentative touch, my hands slowly ran over her hips. My fingers inched under the waistband of her shorts and splayed over her bottom.

Her skin was hot and slick under my touch. I grunted, bucking my cock against her. She arched closer as her hands tugged on my hair, gloriously rough.

_I hope Bella doesn't mind me coming by._

Oh fuck – Tanya.

Bella stiffened beneath me, also sensing the intrusion.

_I'm sure she'd loved the new slicker I got her. That tight little body needs to be put to good use. _

I could hear Tanya's just on the edge of the forest that surrounded the cabin. I could also hear her take a deep breath.

_Edward. Oh my, yes. I think it's time I upped the games. A quick visit to my adopted niece and a roll in the snow, and the weekend will no longer be a loss._

Her thoughts started on the last time I'd seen her over ten years ago. I dropped by for a visit and an extended hunt. She had walked into the bathroom while I was showering and tried to convince me that I missed a spot. It hadn't worked. I leapt out the window and hadn't returned since.

Her thoughts then blended into fantasy where I gladly allowed her to wash me. The problem was that Bella couldn't tell the difference between what was reality or fiction.

A growl rumbled in her chest, and her eyes instantly turned wild, almost feral. By instinct, she wanted to protect and fight for what was hers. I pinned her down and matched her growl.

Her eyes snapped from the bedroom door to mine. "Let go!"

I shook my head and tried to distract her by wrapping my tongue around her nipple. Through the fabric of her top, I felt her nipple tighten under the coolness of my mouth.

She bucked her hips as Tanya's fantasy continued to me taking her from behind. Fucking hell. "I don't want her, Bella," I reasoned. "Never touched her, they're not real."

However, there was no reasoning with her, because she thrashed against me. I held her down firmly, and part of me took great pleasure from her writhing body. I stomped down my lust and concentrated on keeping her still. One of her hands managed to escape my hold and grab my erection.

I groaned and was lost to the sensation, giving her what she needed – an edge. She bucked me off her body and leapt off the bed in the same graceful movement. In seconds, she was flying down the stairs to meet Tanya.

By the time I was behind her, Tanya stood just inside the front door. She looked alarmed and recognized the look in Bella's eyes. She was poised to attack.

_Oh God. They're together. I didn't know, Edward!_

"She can hear you," I said under my breath.

_I don't want to hurt her._

"You won't," Bella growled and crouched. In moments, she tackled Tanya out the door. I ran after them, both tumbling in the snow. I was able to hear Carlisle, Esme and Tanya's sisters approaching from the east. This only served to fuel Bella's anger.

Both Tanya and my other half were on their feet, circling each other. Bella's advantage was that she could hear Tanya's thoughts. Tanya's advantage was that she was over one thousand years old.

My phone vibrated from somewhere in the cabin; a lot of fucking good it did for me now.


End file.
